GEORGE TOWN, March 2 – The expansion and upgrading of the Penang International Airport (LTAPP) will be carried out this year to deal with the problem of the increase in the number of passengers at the airport. The Minister of Transport, Anthony Loke Siew Fook said, following the announcement by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the presentation of the 2023 Budget last year, the expansion work will be carried out before the end of this year at the latest.
According to him, the LTAPP expansion work has been delayed for two years following the change of government in 2020. All funding for this expansion work will be borne by Malaysia Airports Holdings Sdn Bhd (MAHB) without allocation from the government through a financial mechanism that will be agreed by the Ministry of Finance with MAHB. LTAPP is the third busiest airport in Malaysia with a capacity of 6.5 million passengers every year.
The last LTAPP expansion work was carried out in 2009 and completed in 2013 with the total capacity that could be accommodated at that time being 6.2 million,” he said at a press conference at the Chief’s Office Minister in Komtar here on Wednesday. Also present were the Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow and several members of the Penang Government Exco. Earlier, Anthony made his official working visit to Penang by reviewing public service operations.
Including visiting Penang International Airport (PIA) and taking a ferry before returning to the capital using the Electric Train Service (ETS). According to Anthony, the capacity in 2013 was recorded up to 6.5 million and increased to 8.33 million in 2019.
