Malaysia plans $1b spending to improve congested airports

Malaysia plans to spend about $1b over the next five years to refurbish and expand its airports as the Southeast Asian country paces infrastructure growth with a surge in passenger traffic, its main airport operator said. “My main terminal may require some upgrade,” said Badlisham Ghazali, managing director of state-controlled Malaysia Airports Holdings, referring to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. “There are other airports that have grown beyond capacity,” including the tourist island of Langkawi, Kota Bharu in the north and Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, he said. The upgrade of facilities is likely to benefit regional airlines such as AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia’s largest discount carrier, which are expanding their fleets and adding more routes as rising incomes and competitive fares encourage more Asians to fly. Boeing Co. is projecting 100m new passengers annually in the region. AirAsia, the biggest operator of Airbus Group SE’s single-aisle aircraft, signed a deal in July for 100 A321neos to help maintain its industry lead. The proposed investment is a fraction of Hong Kong International Airport’s estimated spending plan of HK$141.5 billion to add a third runway. Singapore’s Changi Airport will have a fourth terminal by 2017 at a cost of S$1.28 billion ($941 million) to handle 16 million passengers annually. The Malaysian government will foot part of the planned $1b investment, with the rest coming from Malaysia Airports, Badlisham said.<br/>