KUCHING, June 30: The construction of the new RM91.4 million Bebuling airport at Spaoh, Betong is expected to commence soon.
Minister of Infrastructure and Port Development Tan Sri James Jemut Masing in a statement today revealed that construction on a second airport, the RM173.5 million Bukit Mabong airport in Kapit, is also expected to get underway.
“The Bukit Mabong airport offers cargo and passenger carrier (services) while the Bebuling airport will cater for cargo. It will take 36 months to complete and with work to commence soon, we expect both airports to be completed by the third quarter of 2023.
“Bukit Mabong will feature a 790-metre runway which can accommodate a twin otter passenger aircraft and a Cessna 208 aircraft with 3 tonnes load,” Masing disclosed.
He added that Bukit Mabong and Bebuling were chosen as sites for the new airports as the Sarawak government is in high gear in its commitment towards enhancing rural economic transformation and connectivity and safety of rural air services.
“Bukit Mabong has been identified as a new Rural Air Services (RAS) route under the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom). The site has been aptly selected as it is remote, sparsely populated with a population of approximately 50,000 and with significant accessibility issues.
“Bebuling in Spaoh was chosen based on input from various stakeholders, to improve air connectivity with a key agropolitan centre of Sarawak in the Bukit Sadok area. This will in turn help in the transportation of agricultural produce for export from the area,” Masing explained. — DayakDaily
