MALAYSIA: MAHB Provides RM10 Million For Sabah Tourism

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak says Terminal 1 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport is able to hold nine million passengers a year. - See more at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/mahb-provides-rm10-million-for-sabah-tourism#sthash.qJgfM3QT.dpuf


Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) will provide a RM10 million fund for Sabah Tourism Board to carry out marketing activities to lure more tourists to the state.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the fund will be channelled after the relocation of airline operations from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) was completed.

"This is a gesture of support from MAHB in helping the development of tourism sector in Sabah," he said when launching the Terminal 1 KKIA at Kota Kinabalu tonight.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Liow Tiong Lai, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali.

Najib said the Terminal 1 KKIA, which was built at a cost of RM1.7 billion, was capable of facilitating the capacity of nine million passengers a year.

The prime minister said an airport with comfortable and modern facilities, as well as world-class customer service, like the Terminal 1 KKIA, was capable of projecting positive image of Malaysia as a modern and developed country.

The terminal was also capable of meeting the growing demands of the industry to have a bigger and more comfortable terminal, which was equipped with various facilities suitable to run airline operations, he stressed.

Najib said it was only apt for the overall KKIA operations to be integrated at the Terminal 1, so as to provide a more efficient aviation service and facilities to boost the tourism industry in Sabah.

As such, he also called on all airlines to move their operations to Terminal 1 to ensure efficiency of operations, as the Terminal 2 had exceeded its original capacity of two million passengers.

"In 2014, the capacity of passengers in Terminal 2 was 3.6 million. It was too congested. So, all (airlines) are required to move to Terminal 1 KKIA," he said.

Speaking to reporters later, Najib said the low-cost carrier, AirAsia, should also move its operations to Terminal 1 as Terminal 2 would be converted into an air cargo terminal.

"They (AirAsia) have to move. They have already exceeded (the time frame to move to Terminal 1)," he said. – Bernama, September 16, 2015.