LTSIP to be upgraded to an international airport, says Anwar

KOTA BHARU: The Federal Government agrees with the Kelantan government's proposal to extend the runway at the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (LTSIP) by 400m to become an international airport.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he had asked Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook to expedite the ongoing construction of the LTSIP.

"Phase One is already completed, and (Kelantan) Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud expressed his gratitude, but he asked that a 400m-long runway be added to turn it into an international airport.

"As such, the Federal Government has agreed to extend the runway, and we will do this as soon as possible so that haj pilgrims can fly directly from Kota Baru to Jeddah,” he said.

He said this when speaking at the 2024 Madani Aidilfitri celebration at the Tunjong Rural Transformation Centre here on Thursday night (May 2). It was also attended by Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu and Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

In the afternoon, Anwar spent about 30 minutes surveying the facilities and amenities provided at the new LTSIP phase one terminal, which began operating on Wednesday (May 1).

The phase one terminal can accommodate 1.5 million passengers, while phase two, which will be constructed immediately, can accommodate four million passengers.

The new terminal has over 20 airline counters, multi-storey car parks, special lanes for taxis, a fire and rescue station, additional space for parking aircraft and an LTSIP cashless operating system for the benefit of passengers.

The LTSIP expansion and upgrading projects cost RM440mil. – Bernama