MAHB: LCCT expansion works to be finished in 11 months

Wednesday June 25, 2008
MAHB: LCCT expansion works to be finished in 11 months
By LOONG TSE MIN
The Star

SEPANG: Work on the expansion of the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) is “on track” and should be completed in 11 months, says Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) operations senior general manager Datuk Azmi Murad. The expansion, being undertaken by MAHB, is expected to boost the LCCT capacity by 50% to 15 million passengers a year from 10 million at present. “A permanent site for the LCCT will be decided at a later stage,” Azmi told reporters at the launch of Touch 'n Go payment facility for parking at the LCCT and KL International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.

MAHB had previously announced that a permanent terminal, which would handle up to 35 million passengers a year, was expected to be built in three to four years.

On the current expansion, Azmi said MAHB would be adding another 400 seats in the waiting areas. Meanwhile, toll fare payment operator Touch 'n Go Sdn Bhd expects an average revenue of RM240,000 per month from the parking facilities at the KLIA and LCCT. Chairman Datuk Yahya Yaacob said the company expected to capture about 10% revenue of the parking payment traffic at the two airports as the remainder would likely be in cash. The two airports are the 23rd and 24th parking payment sites for Touch 'n Go.

On the impact of high petrol prices, Touch 'n Go chief operating officer Hasni Zarina Mohamed Khan said the company expected a slowdown in road traffic. This, she said was likely to be offset by the higher use of light rail transit and monorail where the Touch 'n Go card could also be used.

On the surcharge for the use of its card for parking, Hasni said: “Some sites have it, and some do not. “I think it's a matter of convenience for the customer, with the charge being only about 10 sen or 20 sen more.” There were also plans in the near future to expand the use of the Touch 'n Go card for retail outlets at both airports, Yahya added.

Following the high acceptance rate in the Klang Valley, it also planned to expand the use of its system for parking payment to Johor Baru and Penang by next year, he said.