Photo by Patrick Goh/The Edge

KUALA LUMPUR (July 30): Airport maintenance cost of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (KL:AIRPORT) or MAHB will rise by 34% in 2024.

To ensure that all airports it operates nationwide are well maintained, MAHB's outgoings for maintenance totalled RM546 million in 2023, the Ministry of Transport (MOT) said.

It added that MAHB allocated RM19.1 million in 2023 to maintain Sarawak's airports and airstrips.

"The maintenance allocation has increased to RM27.1 million in 2024, which is a 41.9% rise compared to 2023," the ministry said in Parliament on Tuesday, in response to Senator Pele Peter Tinggom, who said the country's airports, especially Sarawak's, need to be upgraded, repaired and maintained effectively.

The ministry explained that MAHB had, until 2024, identified eight airports that need upgrading, including the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Kota Kinabalu International Airport and Kuching International Airport.

The others are the Miri Airport, Bario Airfield (Short Take-Off and Landing Airports), Tawau Airport, Penang International Airport, and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.

The cost of upgrading works will be financed by the government via a development allocation, or by MAHB on a competitive basis.

The MOT said the financing methodology will be implemented via an investment recovery model, which will be discussed with MAHB, subject to government approval.

The government continues to grant MAHB the right to operate, manage, maintain and develop 39 airports and airstrips in Malaysia until 2069 via two operational agreements signed on March 18 this year.

The MOT said the Malaysian Aviation Commission had implemented a service quality framework in stages from September 2018 to ensure that airport infrastructure facilities and services nationwide, including those in Sarawak, are safe and well maintained, with financial penalties on operators who fail to comply with the standards set.

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