KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB) is eyeing e-commerce as a promising vehicle to drive the future growth of the KL International Airport (KLIA).
Managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said e-commerce was flourishing in this part of the world with the growing propensity among people to shop for almost everything online.
“All the integrators are present here. We will be courting and inviting e-commerce players to come to Malaysia. I believe it can enable the KLIA to achieve strong growth,” he told Bernama.
He highlighted that intra-Asia trade is growing annually by 6% and e-commerce alone would be worth about US$88bil (RM390.6bil) by 2025 in Asia.
“E-commerce players are global in nature and we need to accommodate them.
“About 100 hectares of land will be allocated for the overall development of air-cargo and logistics of which e-commerce is a part of, as well as meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions (MICE) and aircraft, maintenance, repairs and overhaul (MRO) activities.
“Of this, 50ha will be allocated just for air-cargo and logistics (including e-commerce). This overall development is part of the ambitious Aeropolis project.
“Our Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) will cover all these three segments,’ he said.
Badlisham said MAHB was also positioning the KLIA to take advantage of the phenomenal growth in Asian air travel.
“Just looking at the development taking place across Asia in areas of trade, business and investments, there is considerable scope for growth,” he added.
Substantiating his bullish view on Asia, he said 40% of all new aircraft deliveries would be made in the continent.
“KLIA is very well positioned to gain access to Asian markets with good connectivity to key regions,” he added.
According to MAHB, passenger traffic to and from 18 countries has recorded double-digit growth and it includes the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Laos, Pakistan, New Zealand, Oman, Nepal, Mauritius, Kazakhstan and Japan.
The main KLIA terminal handled some 25.5 million passengers in 2016, up 12.8% over the previous year, while klia2, dedicated to low-cost carriers, handled around 27.1 million, a 3.8% increase.
Badlisham pointed out that KLIA had a capacity of 40 million passengers, and klia2, 42 million.
MAHB recorded a total of 88.83 million passengers in 2016 at all its airports in the country, a 6% growth over the previous year.
Badlisham said KLIA had been set a target of 100 million passengers to be achieved by 2030.
“In our 20-year planning, we intend to launch a third terminal. It will be an addition to the KLIA and the klia2,” he added.
Badlisham also revealed that MAHB had been holding regular meetings with airlines and the International Air Transport Association towards strengthening the KLIA’s position as the preferred Asean hub. - Bernama
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