Malaysia transport minister Loke Siew Fook.
Malaysia’s government has approved the expansion and upgrade of Penang International Airport (PEN), transport minister Loke Siew Fook has revealed.
Speaking at Routes Asia 2024, being held in Langkawi, Malaysia, he said the project would be handled and funded by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) through an investment recovery model.
Loke anticipates the project will commence in the second or third quarter of this year, with a targeted completion within three to four years. It is expected to cost more than RM1 billion ($209 million).
The move comes after the government last October allocated RM93 million for land acquisition and infrastructure enhancements to support the development. The expansion of PEN will increase the terminal’s annual handling capacity from 6.5 million passengers to 12 million.
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“The transport sector is a fundamental building block towards becoming a developed nation,” Loke said. “It is the backbone of growth enabling the efficient movement of passengers and goods across borders.”
Loke explained that the industry contributes about 3.5% of Malaysia’s GDP and said the government was committed to creating the conditions that foster growth, tying in with its ambitions of attracting 6.1 million tourists to the country by 2026.
“Malaysia is also optimistic that we will see more airlines from Europe, Central Asia and Middle East by the end of the year,” he added.
Loke said the Malaysia government’s decision to allow visa-free entry to citizens of China and India for up to 30 days, which commenced in December, has begun to stimulate further inbound traffic.
“We have seen a lot of improvement in terms of arrivals in the past two months,” he said. “We are confident that we will continue to see a very strong growth in terms of international tourist arrivals.”
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