KUALA LUMPUR: The Kedah state government has yet to submit any application for the Kulim International Airport (KXP) development to the Transport Ministry, the Dewan Rakyat heard today.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the development of the aerodrome was under the ministry's jurisdiction according to Section 5 of the Civil Aviation Act 1969, as well as the Civil Aviation Regulation 2016.
He said any plan to establish and build an aerodrome required permission from the ministry, supported by comprehensive documents and information.
"A series of discussions and meetings were held with the Kedah state government to study the proposal.
"The ministry has informed developers and the state government that the proposed KXP is subject to the National Airport Strategic Plan (NASP)," he said in response to a question from Datuk Azman Nasrudin (PN-Padang Serai).
Azman had asked about the Transport Ministry's role to ensure the continuation of the Kedah Aerotropolis Project to increase economic activities at Southern Kedah.
Loke said the Kedah state government had only submitted a letter dated Jan 3, 2021, on a request to proceed with the KXP and Kedah Aerotropolis projects, by exempting it from compliance to the NASP study waiting period, or by using data findings from previous studies as an interim.
"Following this, KXP Airportcity Holdings Sdn Bhd as the project developer, has finalised study on KXP and submitted the Master Plan to the Transport Ministry on Jan 18, 2023, which contains the technical and commercial report.
"After the Master Plan for KXP was finalised, no application has been made in detail by the Kedah state government regarding the project's development."
For any aerodrome development project including airports in Malaysia, the application must be made in accordance with the Civil Aviation Act 1969 and related regulations, he said.