Malaysia: New Runway Extension At Sabah's Sandakan Airport To Boost Number Of Air Passengers

SANDAKAN (Sabah, Malaysia), May 8 (Bernama) – Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said he was confident the new runway extension project at the Sandakan Airport would increase the number of passengers to Sandakan and its surrounding areas. A total of 882,811 passengers used the Sandakan Airport last year, an increase of 29,400 passengers, compared with the previous year. The new runway extension would allow the landing of aircraft without any weight restriction, he said during the launch of the project by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak here, Sunday. Liow said the government expected an immediate impact on the state's eco-tourism sector once the project was completed and would particularly attract more commercial airlines and charter flights, especially from China, to fly directly to Sandakan (on the northeast coast of Borneo) Meanwhile, Liow said the federal government had allocated RM41 million (US$1 = RM4.34) for development of the air sector in Sabah this year. He said the amount was from a total of RM79.2 million allocated by the federal government for the transport sector in the state this year under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP). "The federal government is very committed and serious about providing the best infrastructure to ensure the quality of life of the people in Sabah improves," he said. He said last year, RM13.1 million had been spent for the development of transport-related infrastructure in Sabah covering various sectors, of which a total of RM1.4 million was spent on the air sector. -- BERNAMA