KUALA LUMPUR: THE new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT), KLIA2, is on track to be opened by April next year, with 50 per cent of the development completed to date, said Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) chairman, Tan Sri Aris Othman.
The purpose of building KLIA2 is to cater to the growth of low-cost carriers (LCCs) since there are other LCCs coming into Kuala Lumpur, he said, adding that the current LCCT was meant to be temporary since it was a cargo area.
"So sooner or later airlines cannot operate there because it is already congested. We still exceeded the growth in LCCT by expanding from the original 10 million passengers a year to the current 15 million.
"At the moment I think they are handling probably about 18 million passengers per annum. So it is already above capacity," he said.
When asked whether the largest low-cost carrier in Asia, AirAsia will operate in KLIA2, Aris said it is purely up to the airline.
"We are just the service provider. We provide the infrastructure. The airlines have to decide whether they want to use it (KLIA2) or not. We can't force airlines to use it," he said.
Meanwhile, giving an update on the Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia, Aris said MAHB is still in the bidding stage to secure the contract to expand the airport.
According to newspaper reports last month, the outcome of the expansion project is expected to be known by the end of this year.
MAHB has been shortlisted for the Medina airport and for the facilities services management at the Doha International Airport.
It currently operates in four other countries apart from Malaysia, managing five airports in the Maldives, Hyderabad (India), New Delhi (India), China and Istanbul (Turkey).
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