The ministry said the Cabinet approved the project on Nov 8. It will take two years to complete, with pre-construction to begin this year.

It said the project will be fully borne by Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) without involving any government guarantee.

The project will see the main terminal’s capacity increased to 12 million passengers a year, the construction of a multi-level car park and seven airport aprons, as well as improvements to the roads around the airport.

The airport will also start employing automation to smoothen operations and the use of green technology in its support infrastructure.

The ministry said KKIA’s current capacity is 9 million passengers a year but the number of passengers in 2019 exceeded that, with 9.4 million passengers using the airport that year.

“Although this figure declined in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it rose to 7 million in 2023. Based on our projections, this is expected to rise to 12.4 million per annum by 2034.

“As of last month, KKIA has recorded 6.6 million passengers, a 13.4% increase compared with the same period last year,” it said.

It said the upgrading project reflected Putrajaya’s commitment to ensuring Sabah’s infrastructure not only met current needs but future demands.

It also thanked MAHB and the Sabah government for supporting the project.