Recession has not curbed enthusiasm for Kuala Lumpur's new airport
Nicholas Ionides/Kuala Lumpur
The backers of Malaysia's new gateway airport at Sepang, south of Kuala Lumpur, boast that the massive facility has been built for the future. Boarding bridges have been designed to handle large new-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A3XX, 90m-long baggage claim belts can handle more luggage than most other airports, and there is ample room for expansion beyond its 25 million passengers a year capability.
Sepang's critics, however, say that it is too expensive, too far from the capital and, in some ways, has not been built for the present. For example, no rail line has yet been built to allow for easy transfers to the city, a second runway will not be operational for several months after its opening, and key facilities such as catering and cargo terminals have been rushed to completion.
Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) senior vice-president for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) operations, Mohd Kamil Abu Bakar, brushes aside the criticism. Not only is Sepang Airport needed to replace the existing Subang Airport - which few would deny has been kept alive long past its lifetime - it is also a necessity, he says, to put the Malaysian capital's airport firmly in the top five for hubs in Asia Pacific.
BUILT FOR THE FUTURE
"Subang is well past its capacity," Mohd Kamil says of the existing airport, west of Kuala Lumpur. "With Sepang, it's expandable many times over. It really is built for the future."
As a key part of Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad's "Vision 2020" programme, under which the country is to be turned into a prosperous modern nation over the next 22 years, KLIA Sepang is undeniably impressive.
Covering 10,000ha (24,700 acres) of land, the airport will have a second 4,000m (13,115ft) runway by the end of the year and is claimed to have both the tallest control tower and the largest airline lounge in the world. Built within a jungle, it has plenty of room to grow, with space for five runways and four satellite terminals, eventually making it capable of handling well over 60 million passengers a year.
But is it necessary? Air traffic is sharply down in the region because of the downturn in local economies, and nowhere is this more the case than in South-East Asia, where flag carriers Garuda Indonesia and Philippine Airlines are on the verge of collapse, and MAS and Thai Airways International are suffering badly.
Ir Nazaruddin, of construction management company KLIA Berhad, says it is necessary. Subang is undeniably on its "last legs", he says, having not been upgraded for some time. Subang handles17 million passengers a year, and has been past its design capacity for years.
If Malaysia wants to compete for much-sought-after traffic, its backers argue, it needs a modern new airport. Nazaruddin says KLIA Sepang is now a leading player, competing with Singapore's Changi, Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok, and other new airports being planned or being built outside Bangkok, in Thailand, and Seoul, in South Korea.
One of KLIA Sepang's much talked-about benefits is its Total Airport Management System(TAMS), which controls 41 "mission-critical" airport systems through dozens of interlinked computers. It includes baggage processing machines, security gates, airfield lighting and passenger check-in machines. Designed by a US/Japanese/Malaysian consortium, it was developed specifically for the new KLIA and is owned by the Malaysian Government. Nazaruddin says the system is being considered for other Malaysian airports, and KLIA Berhad is seeking Government permission to market it to other airports.
"We have already had inquiries coming in to our airport," says Nazaruddin. "They want to learn what we are doing. It [TAMS] will put us in the forefront. Quite easily, it is the most powerful system around. There is no comparison yet. Most airports do have these systems, but they don't have so much connected." Nazaruddin claims that other international airport systems connect about 20% of computerised functions, compared with 100% at KLIA.
TAMS, as well as the airport's "passenger-friendly" layout, will make KLIA more efficient, he says, bringing increased comfort for passengers and smoother flight transfers.
While KLIA Sepang is said to be well over budget, at around $5 billion including road links, the Malaysian Government has agreed to freeze landing fees for at least two years to make the airport more competitive and more attractive to airlines. Nearby Changi is the clear target, although even its landing charges are lower than those at Japan's Kansai Airport at Osaka, and at Hong Kong. "The landing fees are going to be the same as at Subang for at least a couple of years," says Mohd Kamil of MAS. "It's a great benefit for the airlines."
If this promise is kept, airport charges will remain at about $2,000 for a 418-seat Boeing 747-400 with a 4h turnaround and a load factor of 66.8%. This compares with about $3,000 at Changi and more than $10,000 at Kansai. At no time has this been more important than now, says Mohd Kamil, with airlines desperate to find ways to cut costs.
READY FOR BUSINESS
Rushed to completion for a 27 June opening after repeated delays, the airport's opening date was set to beat the 6 July opening of Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok. Although the past weeks have involved frantic last-minute construction work, all facilities are ready for business.
Ironically, the downturn in traffic may have helped KLIA to launch just before Hong Kong, because its second runway is not due to open for at least three more months. The concrete is laid, but airfield lighting has not yet been installed.
"That one runway can handle 40 movements an hour," says Mohd of MAS, "compared with 30 an hour at Subang [which has only one runway]. Here at Sepang, 25 million passengers a year can be handled. At Subang, it's handling 17 million and it's passed its capacity. So one runway should be sufficient because we're already doing that now at Subang."
An official with Malaysia Airports, which is managing the new airport, adds: "It doesn't matter what the traffic is like now. It will recover and grow. You can't say that Kuala Lumpur doesn't need a new airport - Subang is terrible. If you're going to replace it, you might as well replace it with something that can last for a long time."
Source: Flight International
