Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) may achieve its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) target of RM1 billion earlier than 2014.

'We hope so, and it depends on this year's performance and next year's,' managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid told reporters after the company's 12th annual general meeting today.

In MAHB's Annual Report 2010, he said commercial development would be the main driver to the group achieving its EBITDA target.

Under the plan, the company should have at least 60 per cent of its revenue come from commercial business through optimising current retail space and focusing on creating new commercial space to attract customers and drive sales.

The company would also provide incentives to attract new airlines to increase both aircraft and passenger related revenue in order to achieve RM3.2 billion in revenue by 2014, Bashir said.

Meanwhile, MAHB chairman Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman said the company was anticipating further changes in the industry landscape following the liberalisation of intra-ASEAN air services agreements and airlines' route expansion.

He said that with the growth of low cost airlines in the region, the company was already seeing increased flights in its airports to regional destinations in other countries.

'Therefore, our key challenge is to ensure that we provide adequate capacity at our airports to cater the expected growth in traffic,' he said.

MAHB now expected passenger traffic to grow to 72 million by 2014 as its earlier target of 60 million could be achieved this year, he added. - Bernama