Two new airports proposed to replace Penang International Airport

PENANG —Two companies have proposed to build an airport each in two locations in south Seberang Perai on mainland Penang, The Star reports today (June 10).

The report said one has submitted its plan for an airport to Putrajaya and the other will soon do the same.

One proposes to acquire thousands of hectares of padi land for the North Malaysia International Airport (NMIA). The other company wishes to name its facility the Northern Region International Airport (Noria).

Approval for the airports would spell the end of Penang International Airport (PIA) on the island.

A source said NMIA is to be built near the shared border of Kedah, Penang and Perak.

It would take up 650ha of land, with an additional 400ha for warehouse and logistics facilities, and cost about RM10 billion. The site is currently a vast tract of padi fields.

“The company proposed an airport large enough to handle 16 million passengers a year, expandable to 25 million.

“It will serve the three states with a check-in terminal featuring a transit monorail for flight passengers to commute between Penang island and NMIA in 45 minutes,” the source told the daily.

The source said the length of the monorail transit line would be about the equal to the rail link between Kuala Lumpur International Airport and KL Sentral.

“The rail link includes an interchange station with the electric train service between Padang Besar (Perlis) and Kuala Lumpur, and stops at Batu Kawan Industrial Estate on the Penang mainland and near Queensbay Mall in Bayan Lepas on the island,” the source said.

The source said that the NMIA project plan was presented in such detail that it had caught the attention of the federal government.

The source did not disclose who attended the presentation.

A state executive councillor told the The Star he was not aware of such projects being discussed by the Penang government.

The source said the company “did not ask for a cent” to build NMIA. Instead, it asked for the land on which the Penang International Airport sits in return for building the new airport.

“They won’t even need the land until NMIA is fully operational.

“The company claims it can raise enough funds to build NMIA fully before seeing a return on their investment by developing the Bayan Lepas airport land.”

“The company is also willing to finance the cost of acquiring land in south Seberang Prai to build NMIA,” the source said.

As for the other airport, Noria, the proposal includes the building of an industrial fisheries port and a new electronics industrial park.

Another source said the Noria project will be built of 5,000ha of land located between the second Penang Bridge and the Penang-Perak border.

“It will be an island. On top of an airport, it will be the largest aquaculture and deep-sea fisheries hub in peninsular Malaysia,” the source said.

“The fishing port would support tuna fishing activities in the Andaman Sea and even the Indian Ocean on the other side of Sumatra Island.”

The source said the plan to build a mega industrial park for electronics industry will benefit those living in the northern part of Perak and southern part of Kedah.

“The industrial park will create tens of thousands of new jobs.” 

PENANG UNAWARE OF PROPOSALS FOR NEW AIRPORTS

Although proposals for two new airports in Penang have yet to be brought to the state government’s attention, any such move is welcome, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

In a statement, he said any proposal to develop an airport in the state or northern region will be gladly received, so long as it does not jeopardise Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas and the state’s future development.

“The economy of Penang and its people must benefit from such proposals,” he said, reiterating the state government’s stance on the matter.

On that note, he said, his administration will wait for the proposals to be presented to it for deliberation, after which feedback will be provided. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT