Azmin confirmed the proposed airport will be 100 per cent privately funded. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 — The federal government lacks funds and needs the private sector to help finance the needed infrastructure development, Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said today.

Referring in particular to the government approval for the RM1.6 billion, privately-funded Kulim International Airport in Kedah, Azmin said this was necessary due to the state of public coffers.

“The government does not have the funds to develop [the airport].

“But such development is necessary, therefore, the participation of the private sector is much needed to develop important infrastructure,” he told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby here today.

He also confirmed the proposed airport will be 100 per cent privately funded.

Azmin said the government has to look at the long-term development of the North corridor, and said the increased capacity of the Penang International Airport can no longer be sustained.

The Gombak MP said the expansion for the airport in Bayan Lepas is also restricted due to the limited land surface.

“In order to sustain the industrial demand, especially in the Northern and Southern corridor, there is a need to construct the airport in order to attract investors.

“[The airport in Kulim] is just to complement whatever facilities that we have in Penang and Alor Setar,” he said, adding that the airport project will undergo the normal procedure in conducting feasibility studies.

This includes the Traffic Impact Assessment, Social Impact Assessment, and the Environment Impact Assessment.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had echoed Azmin, and said both the Kulim International Airport as well as the RM1.2 billion expansion of the Penang International airport, were carried out via a private finance initiative (PFI).

“If the private investors show the interest to develop the two international airports, this should not be a problem as it is good and can spur the economy and create more job opportunities,” he told reporters today.

The Bagan MP said private investment though PFI shows the increased confidence in the federal and Kedah state government.