KUALA LUMPUR: The government will allocate RM3 billion in soft loans under the Maritime Development Fund through Bank Pembangunan Malaysia in order to encourage the development of the shipping industry, shipyard construction, oil and gas as well as maritime-related support activities.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the move is in addition to the Logistics Sector Master Plan, which will provide the strategic direction for the development of logistics infrastructure and supply chain as well as review regulations and laws. To improve operations management and air traffic control, the government will replace the existing air traffic control management system in Subang that is almost 20 years old.
“A new air traffic management centre costing RM700 million will be built at KLIA,” he said when tabling the Budget 2014 in Parliament yesterday.
He said the new system will facilitate an increase in air traffic from 68 to 108 movements per hour on three runways, making it among the highest capacity in handling air traffic worldwide.
“To increase passenger comfort, the government will upgrade several airports, such as Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan in Sabah as well as Miri, Sibu and Mukah in Sarawak. For this, the government will allocate RM312 million. In addition, the passenger terminals in Langkawi International Airport and Kuantan Airport will be upgraded,” he added.
Najib said the government will launch the Services Sector Blueprint in 2014 which outlines strategies and measures as well as identifies the potential subsectors to be developed. — Bernama