Go-ahead for Sime Darby and MAHB terminals

Tuesday January 6, 2009
Go-ahead for Sime Darby and MAHB terminals
By LOONG TSE MIN

PETALING JAYA: Even as Sime Darby Bhd announced it has received government approval to proceed with the proposed private low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) project in Labu, Negri Sembilan, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) gave details of its plans to develop a new LCCT at the KL International Airport (KLIA).

MAHB managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad, when contacted by StarBiz, said: “We still need to provide an LCCT at KLIA for airlines other than AirAsia that will fly into Kuala Lumpur.
“As a GLC (government-linked company), we will talk to the Government on our plans for the future with regards to the LCCT.” On the existing LCCT, Bashir said: “This was always meant to be temporary, we will convert it into a warehouse.”

On whether MAHB’s LCCT project would be scaled down as AirAsia would now use the terminal in Labu, he said: “We will have to see about this when we discuss with the Government.”
Sime Darby is also a GLC with its major shareholders (as at Sept 12, 2008) Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera holding a 34% stake, and the Employees Provident Fund, Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Yayasan Pelaburan Bumiputera each owning about 14% in the plantation giant.

Sime Darby in a statement to Bursa Malaysia yesterday, said the LCCT project was an integral part of its development plan for its Negri Sembilan Vision City (NSVC).