/// West Malaysia Property News
What Is the Truth About KLIA2 Opening Delays?
misses and delays.
Deadline on KLIA2 Remains,
the Government Guarantee
The parties should be
transparent about the
issues they face.
Despite the delay MAHB shares are on the uptrend
Nearly two months ago,
there were reports stating
that KLIA2 would surely
get its certificate of fitness
by the end of January to
facilitate the start of its
operations on May 2.
The main contractor
the UEMC-Bina Puri
joint venture pledged to
complete the airport with
its certificate of fitness by
Jan 31.
This new date came about
after several deadlines
were not met to the extent
that the Government had
to establish a task force to
monitor the progress at
KLIA2, an airport dedicated
to low cost carriers.
The certificate would
enable the airport operator,
Malaysia Airports Holdings
Bhd (MAHB), to conduct
operational readiness and
airport transfer or better
known as ORAT.
But the Jan 31 deadline
was not met because
the infrastructure has
yet to get the green light
from the Fire and Rescue
Department, the Sepang
Municipal Council and
Indah Water Konsortium.
Rectification works are
under way, giving reasons
for many to doubt if the
airport can be operational
by May 2.
Against this backdrop,
acting Transport Minister
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin
Hussein has given a
commitment that the
deadline of May 2 for the
98
opening will be maintained
or the parties responsible
would be penalised for
delays.
He has even said that the
ORAT can be carried out by
MAHB immediately.
Typically, new airports need
about six months for ORAT.
Even when the main
terminal, KLIA, was built
more than a decade ago, it
had originally planned for a
three-month ORAT period,
but took six months. So
did Hong Kong’s airport,
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi
and South Korea’s Incheon.
Delays in airport projects
are not unique to KLIA2
as it is a complicated
infrastructure. Even when
airports are opened, many
face operational issues.
For instance, Denver airport
faced huge baggage system
problems from day one,
while it was not smooth
sailing at the Hong Kong
international airport in its
early days of operations.
The Doha airport changed
its opening date many
times and now has fixed
it for 2017. So have the
authorities in Germany
who have delayed fixing
the date for the opening
of the Berlin airport thus
far despite Germany being
known for its machine-like
efficiency.
So KLIA2 is not alone, but
people need to know the
truth as to what is really
going on given the many
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
Is it really true that a
large portion of the main
terminal is not ready for
public occupation from the
fire and safety aspects? Are
there problems with the
sewerage pipes due to soil
conditions?
There are plenty of
construction jobs in the
market, and the obvious
question is whether the
contractors have bitten off
more than they can chew
and that could be slowing
down the completion of
KLIA2. Are they also facing
shortage of resources?
Over a decade ago when
KLIA was conceptualised,
there was a planning
committee that dedicated
two years just to planning
before the start of
construction. After the
plans were firmed up, it
did not accommodate any
changes.
Only four main contractors
were appointed to build
KLIA.
In comparison, KLIA2 has
too many contractors in
a bid to give many parties
jobs, and it also did not
lock up its plans, catering
to last-minute requests for
changes. This could also be
a reason for the delay.
To be fair, the third
runway, taxiway and other
supporting infrastructure
were completed in
December last year, making
Malaysia the first country
in the region to have a
third runway for its flagship
airport.
Enough time has been
spend on trying to
complete KLIA2, and it is
easy to point fingers, but
this is an important facility.
Some parties need to own
up to all the delays so far.
KLIA2 will take off from May 2 according to the
Government
The Government is
not budging from its
guarantee that KLIA2 will
take off from May 2..
that KLIA2 receives the
CCC and the operational
readiness and airport
transfer (ORAT).
“From now until May 2,
we have to do whatever
it takes to make it
operational.
In a related development,
Deputy Transport Minister
Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi
said there were no defects
in the (KLIA2) terminal
building, which is almost
completed.
“I am serious (when I say) I
will hold those responsible
to their promise.
“If there are parties found
to have obstructed this
schedule, I will not hesitate
to take the necessary
action against them,” said
acting Transport Minister
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin
Hussein.
“The contractor merely
has to make amendments
to the fire and safety
features to comply with
the (Fire and Rescue
Department) standards,
which we hope will be in
place by the end of this
month,” he said.
KLIA2 had missed several
deadlines for opening
since September 2011,
with the last scheduled
opening on April 30
deferred to May 2 this
year.
Meanwhile, UEM-Bina
Puri confirmed it could
not obtain the CCC by Jan
31, allegedly due to an
“unexpected issue” which
occurred recently during a
follow-up inspection.
Speculations over another
possible delay came on
Tuesday, when Malaysia
Airports Holdings Bhd
reportedly failed to
receive the certificate
of completion and
compliance (CCC) from
main contractor UEMCBina Puri for the KLIA2
terminal building.
In the meantime, Indah
Water Konsortium Sdn
Bhd, Sepang Municipal
Council and the Fire and
Rescue Department
inspected the building last
month and found 65% of
the main terminal did not
comply with fire and safety
standards.
Hishammuddin told a
press conference here
yesterday that he would
closely monitor the
matter and conduct spot
checks at the airport
site to ensure that the
project was delivered
on time. This, he added,
would include ensuring
There were also
reportedly cracks in the
sewerage pipe outside the
terminal and parts of the
road and drainage were
allegedly not fit for use.
On the cracked pipe,
Abdul Aziz, who chairs the
KLIA2 task force, said: “We
will fix it.”