Penang Airport in transition

Monday, May 21 2012

Wednesday, 16 March 2011 16:58

VISITORS to the Penang International Aiport (PIA) over the past few months may have been caught unawares, curious and overwhelmed by the current chaos that surrounds it. But rest assured, this short spell of inconvenience will pave way to a brand new look for the northern region's primary airport.

Come June 2012, the PIA will feature superior infrastructure and facilities. The expansion works, which commenced in June 2010 under the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) blueprint, comprise three packages.

The first is upgrading the main infrastructure, utility and related buildings. The second, upgrading and face-lifting of the main terminal building with a modern and contemporary concept with more quality and internationally-recognisable retail and food outlets. The third, upgrading of facilities at the airside areas such as a privatised project to build a business-class hotel on top of a four-storey carpark.

Once completed, it would be the most modern airport in the country and in the region. The floor area will double to 52,000 sq m, with an ability to support 5 million passengers compared to only 3.5 million now, and an increase in the number of parking bays from 1,200 to 2,000. Currently, the medium-sized airport is the fourth largest and third busiest airport in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kota Kinabalu International Airport. It has good connections to major cities in South East Asia.

Built in 1977 over swampy land that was drained and reclaimed, the airport was formally opened and first began operations in 1979. It was then known as the Bayan Lepas International Airport. Over the years, the terminal with its distinctive Minangkabau design has undergone several upgrades. Some of the more recent measures include resurfacing the runway in 2007, expanding the terminal and increasing the check-in counters in 2008 and restoring the taxiway and apron line in 2009.

The latest upgrading was announced by the Federal Government as part of its RM6 billion fiscal stimulus package. According to Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri, the ongoing expansion of the Penang International Airport is about 15 per cent complete and the RM250 million project is expected to be ready as scheduled by next year.

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