Proposed int’l airport to change Malaysia’s Kedah economic landscape

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MalaysiaIf the plan to establish an international airport in Kulim, a city in the state of Kedah, pushes through, it will change the economic landscape of Kedah from being an agricultural to an industrial region, according to a local official.

Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, the head of the executive branch of the government in the state, said the local government is also proposing to turn many areas in the state into technology and industrial parks.

One of these areas is Bandar Baharu, where there are plans to set up an area called Kedah Medical City for all industries involved in medical activities to locate, he said.

Another area near the proposed airport will be turned into an “aerocity” to accommodate all industries related to air transportation, according to a report by national news agency Bernama.

Kedah plans to build an international airport on 6,000 hectares of land in Kulim at a cost of RM1.6 billion (US$457.25 million), inclusive of land acquisition and construction expenses.

Mukhriz announced the idea for an international airport in Kulim, a sleepy town about 30 minutes’ drive from the two bridges which link the mainland to Penang island, in June. He said the airport would serve as a regional airport for the northern states of Peninsular Malaysia and Southern Thailand.

The blueprint for the air hub includes a basic airport infrastructure and two runways. Currently, Kedah has two airports, namely, the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport and the Langkawi International Airport.

The plan has received opposition from neighboring Penang as it would supposedly compete against the Penang International Airport.

The Kulim airport proposal has been submitted to the federal government for approval and is being studied by the Ministry of Transport.

Photo: Luke Ma