Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the Penang government had not met with the stakeholders or held any meetings on the proposed construction of the airport but said the project was in the minutes of the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) meeting for consideration.

“This may be the first step towards the (realisation of the) project. It has just been announced that there is a proposal to build a cargo airport at that location.

“Besides, it is a Kedah state project. I believe it also needs approval from the ministries involved, such as the transport ministry, and other parties,” he said after launching Dialight Penang Sdn Bhd’s new factory here today.

In March last year, Economic Affairs Minister Mohamed Azmin Ali announced that the government had approved seven high-impact projects and programmes in Kedah worth more than RM3.6 billion, including KXP involving foreign investments amounting to RM1.6 billion.

However, the announcement received mixed reaction from the Penang government, which said the construction of KXP only about 60km away would have a negative impact on the Penang International Airport and the state.

But in May last year, the Penang government said it would not oppose the project as long as it did not adversely affect the state.

Chow had said that although the airport would be implemented through a private financing initiative without government funding, attention must be paid to its implications on Penang.