Sandakan airport gets upgrade

13th January, 2013

SANDAKAN: The Federal Government has allocated RM70 million to upgrade the Sandakan Airport, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the airport here yesterday, Kong said works were expected to be completed in 18 months.

“These will include repair and upgrading works,” he said adding that the design plans were almost done.

Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) has given its input on how to improve the conditions of the airport for the convenience of travelers, he said.

Among the sections involved include the terminal, baggage handling, mechanical and electrical and building a central utility building.

“The terminal area will increase by 3,000 sq metres with more room for departing and transiting travelers,” he said.

Kong also said that there would be more parking bays at the airport which will have centralized air-conditioning.

“We understand the importance of upgrading the airport as Sandakan is an important eco-tourism getaway,” he said adding that most visitors entered the district via air.

According to him, the government would want to see Sabah to join the country in its transformation.

Sandakan airport handled about 820,000 travelers last year, an increase of 5.8 per cent compared to the previous year.

By 2020, if the airport is not upgraded, it would not be able to handle the increasing number of passengers, he added.

Kong is accompanied by his deputy Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Liew Vui Keong, who is also Sandakan MP and MAB managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad.

Source: New Sabah Times

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Palawan and Balikpapan next on MASWings' list

Published on: Thursday, May 10, 2012

Kota Kinabalu: MASwings plans to fly two new routes, namely Kota Kinabalu-Puerto Princessa, Palawan and Kuching-Balikpapan, under its second phase of expansion to the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.

This is apart from upgrading the existing Tawau-Tarakan thrice-weekly flight services to daily services effective July 1 and introducing a Coral Triangle Charter Flight for divers to world-class dive spots in the State, Philippines and Indonesia within the Coral Triangle (Celebes Sea).

These follow the encouraging response received from its first three destinations in BIMP-EAGA, namely Tawau-Tarakan, Kuching-Pontianak and Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Bengawan, where altogether it has recorded a load factor average of 60-65 per cent. Its CEO Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Haji Awang, who announced this, said they expect to start flying the new Kuching-Balikpapan route, which would be thrice weekly, by the end of October.

"We are in the process of seeking approvals and clearances from the Philippine Government for the KK-Puerto Princessa route Éif everything goes well, we plan to start this new route by the end of October," he said, adding they are all very excited with these new developments.

They are also looking at aircraft utilisation aspects and adjusting timing and so on in preparing for the changes to the Tawau-Tarakan flight service schedules. The company might also increase the number of its aircraft if the need arises.

Mohd Nawawi said this at a press conference in conjunction with the MASwings BIMP-EAGA Golf Challenge 2012 at the MAS administration building in Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), Wednesday.

 Read More : http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=81455

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