A special purpose vehicle will also be created with developer ECK Group holding an 80% stake, with the rest being held by KXP AirportCity Sdn Bhd, a company owned by the state.
An agreement was signed today by ECK’s managing director Khor Eng Chuen and menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor as KXP AirportCity chairman.
Sanusi said the project would boost the state’s economy and provide close to 20,000 new jobs for locals.
The project, he said, would also raise the state’s GDP to 7.5% , compared to 4.5% now, once the project was up and running. A gross income of RM1.18 billion is also expected from the project by 2026, he said.
“The image and status of Kedah will soon change. In the next few years, it will go from a poor state to a new centre of growth similar to the Klang Valley,” he said in a statement today.
Sanusi said a new highway will also bypass Seberang Perai via an expressway from Bandar Baharu in the south to Sungai Petani, allowing easy access to the new airport.
A new rail link connecting Tasek Gelugor to Sungai Petani with a stop at the Kulim Hi-Tech Park will also mean an easy transfer of passengers from strategic points.
“The airport will play a key role as a regional aviation, halal and e-commerce industry hub for Asean, the pharmaceutical industry and will also be a cargo hub as well.
“People of Kedah and the northern states will also be happy that the airport will be used as a hub for Hajj and umrah flights.”
The airport was mooted by the former menteri besar Mukhriz Mahathir, who had said the airport and related developments would cost RM6.8 billion to build. It will be able to handle 15 million passengers per year.
The airport is slated to be located on a 1,700ha site near Sidam Kiri near Sungai Petani and is expected to handle 15 million passengers per year once complete. The state had earlier expected its first flights as early as 2024.
In January, ECK Group’s ECK Development Sdn Bhd also acquired a majority stake in the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel and roads project company, Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd. ECK Development is chaired by Tunku Shazuddin Ariff.