50.26ha of land approved for military camp and airport in Marang

KUALA TERENGGANU: The state government has approved the federal government's application to acquire 50.26ha of land for the construction of a military camp and airport in Marang, said Mentri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman.

He said it was planned that an airport be built on 32.7ha of the site while the remaining 17.56ha was for the construction of a military training camp.

"The approval had been granted for quite sometime, but the implementation of the project by the Defence Ministry will not be immediate due to some constraints.

"Therefore, the state government is in the midst of applying for an approval from the Ministry of Defence to use part of the land to build military housing for the future benefit and welfare of its staff.

Ahmad Razif said this when replying to a supplementary question from Mohd Nor Hamzah (PAS-Bukit Payong) who wanted to know the status of the project at the Terengganu state assembly sitting today.
In reply to a supplementary question from Ariffin Deraman (PAS-Alor Limbat) on the rationale for the construction of a military camp in Marang, Ahmad Razif said the purpose was to develop the area as any projects undertaken by the federal government would create a positive impact on the local economy.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Razif said the state government had managed to complete the construction of 14,225 new houses this year, while another 6,720 units would be ready by 2017.

He said a total of 1,149 units were in the process of final approval and expected to be completed by 2018.

"In the 2016 budget tabled last year, the state government targeted 20,000 new housing units for the Terengganu population and thankfully we have surpassed that target," he said in reply to Datuk Sabri Mohd Noor (BN-Langkap). — Bernama