Penang Chinese Chambers of Commerce (PCCC) president Choot Ewe Seng said since the PIA had gone beyond its capacity of 6.5 million passenger arrivals last year, the upgrade should be double that number.
He explained the airport reached 6.5 million passengers in just three years after its last upgrade in 2012, which he attributed to Penang’s tourism boom.
“The upgrade should ideally allow at least 10 to 12 million in passenger arrivals. And also another two runways should be built to ease any possible congestion in the future.
“This is not our expert opinion but we believe civil aviation experts will make a similar assessment,” Choot told FMT.
PIA is expected to hit seven million passenger arrivals by the end of this year, going beyond its capacity for the second year running, after it hit the 6.7 million passengers mark last year, authorities say.
The airport is designed to take 6.5 million passengers a year, following an upgrade in 2012. The design was supposed to last until 2020.
PIA is the second busiest airport in the country after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, with Kota Kinabalu International Airport taking third place.
Choot said the planned upgrade should begin immediately as the arrival numbers are steadily growing and might leave the airport bursting at its seams.
He said since feasibility studies on the upgrade had likely been done before, the implementation of the upgrade could be hastened.
“We nevertheless welcome the upgrade announcement for the PIA and the Langkawi International Airport (LIA).”
In his Budget 2018 speech in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak said both PIA and LIA will be upgraded.
He also announced the construction of a new airport in Mukah, Sarawak and the expansion of the Kota Bharu and Sandakan airports as well.
Najib also said a study to open an airport on the island of Tioman was also being considered.
Meanwhile, the Penang Malay Congress (Pemenang) also welcomed Najib’s announcement on the airport upgrades in Penang and Langkawi.
Pemenang president Mohd Yussof Latiff said the airport’s expansion would relieve long queues and also possibly settle the perennial floods that occur at the airport.
“This also goes to show that despite Penang being an opposition state, the federal government has not taken the people of Penang for granted.”
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