KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is mulling on building a new airport for Kota Kinabalu to cater to future demands.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal (pix) stressed that the new airport was necessary for Sabah to accommodate the growing number of visitors or tourists into the state.
“Kota Kinabalu International Airport has a capacity of nine million passengers annually and currently, the number of passengers has exceeded eight million.
“In three to five years’ time, the number of passengers will rise. Hence why we are planning to build the airport,” he said yesterday.
Earlier, he attended a Pre-12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) Engagement/Roadshow session with Economic Affairs Deputy Minister Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin and other state ministers.
Shafie said the airport was among the plans discussed during the session.
“We are still at the planning stage and when it’s time, we will make the announcement,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Radzi said the roadshow session was aimed at excogitating Sabah’s development roadmap, which would be taken into consideration in the 12MP.
“The 12MP encompasses three dimensions - economic empowerment, environmental sustainability and social re-engineering.
“To ensure the success of development plans at state level and formulate the future of the new economy, national perspective and the capability of each state will be given consideration to guarantee sustainable and balanced socio-economic growth,” he said. — Bernama
