He said during Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) time, the airport’s expansion plan was done and dusted, with operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) at an “advanced stage of preparedness”, and with contractors appointed for the expansion.

Chow said the current Perikatan Nasional government had chosen to throw a spanner in the works by conducting a study, where a recent parliamentary reply to him on the expansion noted that any expansion to the Penang airport would only be considered after 2023, when the National Airports Strategic Plan study was ready.

“They are not saying the expansion will take place in 2023, but that they will only ‘consider’ it in 2023. The Penang airport should not be part of the study as it was already in an advanced stage.

“During PH’s time, the project could go on, as everything was approved and ready to go. PH had never said it would be cancelled or put on hold.

“But when the new government took over, a new ‘study’ was needed. Even the Kulim airport plan has been stopped,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.

Chow said Penang airport’s expansion to handle 12 million passengers per year compared with the 6.5 million now was already approved by MAHB through an update to the state government in August last year.