New KK International Airport terminal opens

KOTA KINABALU: The RM1.4bil makeover of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport here is one more step closer to completion once the new main terminal here becomes operational on 19 Aug 2008.

Malaysia Airports senior general manager Datuk Azmi Murad said operations at the existing terminal would be shifted to the new RM720mil building at 12.01am on that day. He said the new Terminal 1 would be capable of handling up to 3,200 passengers per hour during peak periods and have 64 check-in counters for international and domestic flights as well 17 aircraft parking bays.

Azmi said with 4.3 million passengers using the KKIA last year, the airport was one of the busiest after the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). In comparison, the number of passengers passing through the Kuching and Penang airports in 2007 was about 3 million.

For this year, MAB was anticipating that up to 4.6 million passengers would be passing through the KKIA that had a capacity of handling up to 9 million passengers annually.

The KKIA redevelopment also includes the construction of a low cost carrier terminal that was operational last year as well as the extension of the runway to 3,780m and a full-length taxiway scheduled to be completed in 2009.

News extracted from : The Star (17.08.2008)