Malaysia: Airport capacity to be doubled for 2b fliers in Asia

Malaysia Airports Holdings plans to double Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s capacity as it seeks a bigger slice of the 2.1b more passengers expected in Asia Pacific in the next two decades. The company is looking to raise the capacity to 150m, from the current 75m, in the next 10 to 20 years, said Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, CFO of Malaysia Airports on Tuesday. The main terminal could reach full capacity in the next two years, he said. “We have started studies on the optimisation and expansion,” Raja Azmi said, declining to comment on how much the plan will cost. “The outcome will determine the configuration that we will have to take within a year or two.” Kuala Lumpur joins neighboring cities Bangkok and Singapore in looking to expand airport capacity as routes in Asia Pacific are set to become among the world’s busiest. Malaysia’s tourism board is targeting foreign visitor arrivals of 36m by 2020, a 39% increase from last year. Malaysia Airports sees passenger traffic across the airports it manages rising 6.3% this year as it banks on easier visa approvals for visitors from China and India.<br/>