KLIA to emerge as an Asian aviation hub by 2020
20 Apr 2011
Kota Kinabalu: Malaysia's aviation industry is expected to undergo rapid growth and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will likely become an important air transport hub for Asia by 2020, according to the country's deputy minister for transport.
KLIA will have the capacity to handle 67 million in passenger traffic by that year.
Deputy transport minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said this prediction took into account a seven per cent annual increase in operations. This, he argued, was a realistic expectation taking into account the robust health of the low-fare aviation industry, the encouraging economic prospects of the country and global trends.
Till 2010, KLIA had handled 34.1 million passengers.
"The construction of KLIA 2 is 31.7 per cent complete and expected to be fully ready in September next year.
"KLIA's capacity will increase by 30 million more with the construction of the new terminal,'' he said.
Abdul Rahim said the government's investment in the sector could help lift Malaysia towards a high income economy and the status of a developed nation by 2020.
