By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Aug 22: There is no reason why the upgrading of the existing Kuching International Airport (KIA) cannot be done in parallel with the building of the new one, and that urging the Sarawak government to ditch the plan over the expansion of KIA that is pending approval based on the ‘availability of funds’ is unreasonable.
This was said by Sarawak United Peoples’ Party’s (SUPP) Women’s chief Kho Teck Wan, in response to Sarawak Democratic Action Party chairman Chong Chieng Jen’s statement on the matter.
In her own statement, she said that KIA has already reached and slightly exceeded its design capacity.
“The design capacity of KIA is five million passengers per annum. KIA served 5.96 million passengers in 2019 (pre-pandemic), which exceeded its design capacity by about 960,000 passengers.
“In the year 2023 (post-pandemic rebound), KIA served 5.33 million passengers, again, above the five-million design threshold. In the year 2024, KIA served an estimated 5.38 million passengers. I advise YB Chong to stop misleading the public.
“There is no reason why the upgrade of existing KIA can’t be done in parallel with the building of a new, more modern, bigger and more advanced airport. After all, the new airport at Tanjung Embang will not be ready in the near future, yet the existing KIA, while still operational, is constrained, and without expansion or a new facility, congestion will worsen as passenger numbers rise,” she said.
The political secretary to the Premier added that the new proposed airport located at Tanjung Embang is strategically adjacent to the upcoming deep-sea port, enabling superior logistics, cargo handling, and multimodal transport integration, benefits that the current KIA upgrade cannot mirror.
She said that the fact that a feasibility study is being conducted on the new airport proved that due diligence is in place, and that the Sarawak government is careful with its fiscal planning.
She also called on Chong, who is the MP for Stampin, to fight for infrastructure development in Kuching.
“Sarawakians deserve developments that provide more income and job opportunities like the new airport. Doesn’t YB Chong want to see Sarawak progress and prosper?” — DayakDaily
