Malaysia Makes Request To Hand Over ISGIA Third Terminal, Runway Operations To MAHB

By D. Arul Rajoo ANKARA, July 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has expressed its desire to Turkiye that the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISGIA) third terminal building and second runway operations be handed over to Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB). Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the request was made by him on behalf of MAHB during a meeting with Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan here Thursday. He said the ISGIA in Istanbul, which is wholly owned and managed by MAHB, is currently being expanded by the Turkiye government involving a new runway and a terminal. The airport, which currently has one runway and two terminals, is the sixth busiest gateway in Europe, with the number of passengers reaching 25 million in 2021, which is 70 per cent of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic figure. It is the second-largest airport in Turkiye besides being the single busiest runway in the world with flights to 110 destinations in 49 countries. Ismail Sabri also said he had met with nine key industry players, including Turkiye’s government-linked companies (GLCs), during the four-day official visit which ended Friday. Among the Turkiye key industry players and GLCs were TUBITAK, OYAK, Turkish Wealth Fund, GAMA Enerji, and Tuyar. Ismail Sabri also met with Malaysian companies and GLCs, namely the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, Boustead Holdings Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd and SilTerra Malaysia Sdn Bhd. “Among the results achieved are that Turkiye companies have expressed interest in investing in Malaysia, collaborating in technology transfer and collaborating in knowledge sharing and expertise," he told a press conference with Malaysian journalists. The two countries also agreed to expand the scope of the Malaysia-Turkiye Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA) to cover the areas of investment, services and e-commerce, in addition to trade which was the original scope of the MTFTA. It is expected to open up high-impact investment opportunities from Turkiye to Malaysia, create new jobs and in the long run, enhance high-value skills in Malaysia, the Prime Minister said. He noted that the cooperation between the two countries will also make Malaysia a Turkish trade and investment hub in the Asian region. Ismail Sabri said that this could be achieved by utilising Malaysia’s membership in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as well as Malaysia’s membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will be finalised later. -- BERNAMA