GEORGE TOWN: Expansion works on Penang International Airport (PIA) have begun, with the RM1.5bil project split into three packages to be completed by 2028.
Penang tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the appointed project team has started work and is now on site for further preparations.
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"Package 1 covers ancillary buildings and associated works.
"Package 2 is for apron and airside facilities.
"Works on the main terminal building will commence under Package 3," he said after a meeting with Malaysia Airlines Berhad at the airport on Tuesday (Oct 15).
He said the team would also coordinate with MRT Corp to construct a light rail transit (LRT) station near the main terminal.
Wong said PIA recorded a 6.78% increase in total passenger movement in the first nine months of the year.
"A total of 5,553,881 passengers was recorded.
"In the same period last year, the number was 5,201,419 passengers.
"With a total of seven million total passengers moving through PIA last year, we estimate the figure to reach 7.8 million this year.
"The airport expansion will cater for 12 million passengers annually," he said.
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The expansion is undertaken by the Federal Government, he added.
Wong said additional upgrades to the airport include 10 autogates each in the international departure and international arrival halls, with the four-month installation work to begin in November.
He said 30 additional Immigration personnel will be deployed at the end of November.
The Immigration Department has also set up a Malaysia Digital Arrival Card (MDAC) help desk in the international arrival hall to help foreigners fill in the necessary forms.
With the expansion, PIA is poised to become the second-largest airport in the country after Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The expansion will also increase aircraft parking capacity from 16 commercial planes to 28 at any one time.
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On a related matter, Wong said five more routes would commence this year.
The first scheduled route will see AirAsia flying from Shenzhen to Penang from Oct 29.
HK Express flights from Hong Kong to Penang are scheduled to begin on Nov 21.
Qatar Airways will resume its Doha-Penang route as part of its winter season schedule on Oct 27.
Two new cargo routes are also expected including one from Chennai, India, Wong added.
