Friday, September 10, 2010

Move Ipoh airport elsewhere

The Government should not waste RM60mil to upgrade the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport but put the money to better use elsewhere as the airport has not contributed much to the growth of the city, said a special MCA committee gathering feedback for the proposed Ipoh Draft Local Plan 2020.

Committee deputy chairman San Chak Chun said the airport had instead hindered the development of the city as high-rise buildings could not be erected there.

“Under a ruling by the DCA (Department of Civil Aviation) buildings within the city area cannot be built higher than 130m above sea level. It has made clear that no buildings can hinder the flight path within the Kinta Valley."

San added that the RM60mil allocation approved by the Cabinet to extend the airport runway by 200m and upgrade the airport terminal, could be used for a new airport elsewhere.
He added that the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang Jaya had caused the value of property surrounding it to depreciate.

In the case of the Melaka Batu Berendam Airport some RM 200 million was spent to upgrade the airport which has now come to be another aviation white elephant. Planners should have been more professional in their study to ensure that money is not put in wasteful projects.

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