KUANTAN: The Transport Ministry is ready to facilitate the Pahang government to build the proposed Kuantan International Airport in Gebeng here.
However, Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook said the process had to be scrutinised as the construction of an airport was deemed quite complicated.
"The ministry will do our best to facilitate the state government's aspiration (for the new airport), and we will hold further talks. The airport project is one of several matters I will discuss with the menteri besar (Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail) during my visit here today.
"The ministry will need detailed information from the Pahang government while we will facilitate the entire process. Building an airport is complicated because it involves the aerodrome operating licence (applied by the project developer) and the technical approval of CAAM (Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia). The process has to be studied thoroughly and adhered to.
"I understand that the existing Kuantan airport (Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Airport) is unique as it shares the runway with the air force. The state aims to have a new airport, and I have been following the progress and will try to assist. The application (for the new airport) has been principally agreed, and we will need to go into the finer details," he told reporters at a joint press conference with Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail after attending the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP) 10th anniversary celebration and the 'Year of Investing in China" programme here today.
On July 6 last year, Wan Rosdy announced that the RM2 billion Kuantan International Airport, part of the Pahang aerospace city project in Gebeng near here, was expected to be fully operational in 2026.
He said the airport and the aerospace city mixed development project would be built at a 5,042ha site in Gebeng.
In August last year, the then Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong told the Dewan Rakyat that the proposed Kuantan International Airport had yet to receive final approval from the federal government.
He said that while the National Physical Planning Council had provided initial approval, the Pahang government still needed to fulfil all due processes.
On the possible new deadline for the new airport, Loke said he would discuss the matter with the Pahang government.
Loke described an airport as a vital infrastructure to boost the country's economy, and the ability to provide various modes of transportation would empower connectivity and build a robust ecosystem.
"If the proposed airport is built near MCKIP in Gebeng, it will give Pahang an advantage as the state already has the Kuantan Port and the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL). Airport and rail links are vital modes of transportation, and not all states have such an advantage," he said.