KUCHING, Aug 12 — The construction work for the proposed new airport in Lawas, located 1,039 kilometres from here, is expected to start by the first quarter (Q1) of next year while its completion is expected to be by the end of 2026.

Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the new airport would be a game changer that could spur the economic activities in Sarawak’s northernmost district.

He said the project came at a time when there would be mega projects such as the Northern Coastal Highway (NCH), Sarawak Sabah Link Road (SSLR) and Trans Borneo Highway (LTB) to come up in the area.

"As such, this new airport is vital as it will serve as the catalyst for economic growth in the northern region,” he said in a statement issued by Sarawak’s Regional Corridor Development (RECODA) in conjunction with the official closing of the new Lawas Airport Assessment Lab session today.

Awang Tengah, who is also the Northern Region Development Authority (NRDA) chairman, said Lawas needed a bigger airport to accommodate the influx of both business and leisure tourists to the town to participate in its economic and tourism activities.

He said the Sarawak Ministry of Industrial Trade and Investment is in the midst of completing the masterplan study for the development of an industrial terminal which would become a part of Lawas petrochemical hub.

Besides that, he said RECODA had completed a study on a proposed new deep-sea port in Lawas and both these studies aimed to identify the success factors and ecosystem to support the proposed development of the petrochemical industry in the region.

The two-day value assessment lab was attended by consultants and officers from various relevant government agencies to gather inputs for the new Lawas airport project to achieve better value and optimal cost.

Lawas is currently served by the existing short take-off and landing (STOL) airport, which has been in operation since 1961 and, despite being upgraded in 1996, continued to experience floodings issues as well as an increase in passengers and cargo.

The Transport Ministry, in its feasibility study report in 2016, had recommended a new airport with a runway length of 1,500 metres which can accommodate ATR 72-500 aircraft to be developed. — Bernama