Lee calls for upgrade of Miri Airport

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Lee (second right) flanked on his right by Zainol, Noor (left) and Antonio at the press conference.

MIRI: Miri Airport handled over 2.3 million passengers last year whereas it has a capacity to handle only 2 million passengers, prompting an urgent need to upgrade it.

Assistant Minister of Communications Datuk Lee Kim Shin disclosed this at a press conference in a meeting room at Malaysia Airport Bhd (MAB) office at Miri Airport yesterday.

“So far, the capacity of Miri Airport is only enough to accommodate around 2 million domestic passengers in a year,” he said.

With the number of flights in and out of the airport more than 4,000 a month, Lee also said there was congestion at the runway almost every day.

“It is among the five busiest airports in Malaysia so far,” Lee added.

He thus welcomed the move by MAB to deploy a team to conduct a comprehensive research on the needs and future of Miri Airport.

“Something has to be done about the growth and development of Miri Airport,” he said, adding this was in line with Miri City’s image as a burgeoning resort city and a prime tourist destination in Malaysia.

Miri Resident Antonio Kahti Galis, MAB general manager Zainol Mohd Isa and Miri Airport manager Noor Bashah Kasim were among those present at the press conference.