New international airport and deepsea port to be built in Tanjung Embang, says Abang Jo

KUCHING: The proposed new Kuching International Airport will be built near the coastal area of Tanjung Embang in Kuching district, Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg announced today.

He said a working committee, chaired by Sarawak Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, had initially proposed that the new airport be built in Matang.

However, after much discussion, it was decided to shift the location to Tanjung Embang.

He said if the new airport was located in Matang, the approaching aircraft would have to circle into Indonesian airspace in Kalimantan before landing.

"If that is the case, we need to seek permission and pay some kind of fee to the Indonesian government because the aircraft would have to fly over Kalimantan before landing."

Abang Johari said this at the opening of Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) southern zone triennial delegates convention at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.

"We don't want any problems (with the Indonesian government) to crop up later," he said.

"Whether we like it or not, the new airport will have to be built in Tanjung Embang," he said, adding that all approaching aircraft would only be flying in Sarawak's airspace.

He said the new airport would be modelled after the Doha International Airport in Qatar.

He added that the present Kuching International Airport will soon become incapable of catering to growing passenger traffic, citing the reason to build a new international airport.

Abang Johari, who is PBB president, said with the proposed new international airport, Tanjung Embang could see more developments in future.

Besides the new airport, a deepsea port will also be built in Tanjung Embang.

The port would be located eight kilometres off the coast, where the depth of the water was between 15 to 20 metres, and it would also host Petroleum Sarawak Bhd's (Petrol) gas terminal.

Abang Johari said the present Kuching Port in Sejingkat was unable to accommodate bigger ships due to the shallow waters caused by siltation at the estuary of Sungai Sarawak.

For this reason, the state government had decided to build a deepsea port in Tanjung Embang.

He said the cost of the new international airport and deepsea port was estimated at RM100 billion, adding that the state had funds to finance these mega projects.

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