MIRI, June 29 ― Sarawak Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said he will highlight the proposed optimisation plan for Miri Airport that has not been approved to the Minister of Transport Malaysia Anthony Loke when he meets him tomorrow.
He said the optimisation plan is an urgent project which was proposed by Miri Airport Management two years ago, in view of the increasing number of passengers. The plan is to extend Miri Airport by another bay and two additional aerobridges.
“There is an urgent need to immediately extend the Miri Airport by another bay and two more aerobridges. This proposal was put up two years ago and the estimated cost is RM60 million.
“This morning I’ve checked with the Airport Management, they said it’s not been approved. I will personally take this up with the Minister for Transport Malaysia when I meet him this coming Friday,” he said at a press conference in Miri Airport yesterday.
The press conference was held after a meeting with Miri Airport management team and among those present were Ministry of Transport Sarawak (MoTS) aviation technical advisor Sio Yew Hua and Miri Airport manager Jauhari Abdullah.
According to Lee, the optimisation plan is urgent as based on statistics the airport has been receiving over two million passengers annually.
He said in 2022, the airport recorded 1,776,255 passengers but this year up to April, the number of passengers recorded at the airport was 695,086, an increase of 46.5 per cent over 471,219 passengers recorded in the same period last year.
“So based on this (46.5 per cent) increase, the projection this year is Miri Airport will be having about 2.78 million passengers.
“In 2019 before Covid, the number of passengers recorded that year was 2,432,497, and the capacity of Miri Airport is only two million a year,” he pointed out, adding that Miri Airport has already exceeded its capacity.
However, he added, the optimisation plan was just a temporary measure and in the long term, the airport will be needing a new and bigger terminal building.
“Therefore, we would like to appeal to the Ministry of Transport Malaysia to immediately consider approving the fund of RM60 million for the immediate optimisation plan of Miri Airport,” he said.
Earlier, Lee told reporters that the rehabilitation work on the existing concrete slab costing over RM800,000 at the airport’s parking apron was already 80 per cent completed.
“They removed and redid the concrete slab because the existing one was crackling and has not been improved or repaired for over 20 years.
“Based on the contract, they (contractor) should finish (the work) by 31st August this year. We hope it can be completed earlier,” he said.
Lee disclosed that another project associated with the apron rehabilitation work was the replacement of aerobridge at Bay 2 costing RM2.3 million.
“The aerobridge replacement tender has already been awarded and the work is estimated to be completed and operational by January 1, 2024,” he said further. ― Borneo Post
