Tuesday January 13, 2009

Approval for the new low-cost carrier terminal in Nilai, Negri Sembilan, was given by all the relevant parties, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

He said questions about the suitability of the KLIA East@Labu project was not for the Transport Ministry to answer solely. "The ministry does not have the ultimate or entire say. It is a collective decision.

"Furthermore, it is a privatised project. It never came under the ministry," he said after launching the MCA ICT Resource Centre Micro-Finance Expo here yesterday.

Ong was asked about the RM1.6bil joint venture between Sime Darby and AirAsia. He said some people assumed that he had the authority to approve the project when he started talking about future air traffic projections.

Ong clarified that questions about the new project being at odds with the KL International Airport Masterplan should be directed to the Finance Ministry. "Government-linked companies come under the Finance Ministry.

"And as far as the masterplan is concerned, this has yet to be endorsed as it is just the outcome of a study commissioned by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad," he said.

On the close proximity of the KLIA East@Labu airport to the KLIA and the LCCT, Ong said geographical distance was a separate matter as far as International Civil Aviation Organisation compliance was concerned.

"It will not be a problem."

This article is a verbatim copy of the original article from The Star.