MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is on the right track towards scaling new heights in emerging as an international class airport operator, with its latest venture in Istanbul’s Sabiha Gocken International Airport (ISGIA).
After having notched up commendable success from the Astana International Airport in Kazakhstan, the new Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, MAHB’s expansion in Istanbul certainly enhances its stature as an international airport operator and manager.
The new terminal at the ISGIA, with MAHB as part of the consortium behind the project, will be officially opened this Saturday.
The opening ceremony for the new terminal will be graced by Turkey''s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
MAHB has joined hands with GMR Infrastructure Limited of India and Limak Group, a Turkish company, to develop, manage and operate ISGIA.
The facility, on the Asian side of the bicontinental city, is named after Sabiha Gokcen, the first female combat pilot in the world.
ISGIA, a greenfield airport, built from scratch in a new location, chalked up the highest passenger growth rate between 2002 and 2007.
Passenger traffic is expected to reach 25 million passenger by 2023.
MAHB has a 20 per cent equity in the consortium involved in building the new terminal which is estimated to cost 343 million euros and will cater for 10 million passengers annually.
Besides being a shareholder in the consortium, MAHB is also involved in the provision of advisory and consulting services in the airport master plan and detailed design study, especially in the operational readiness and airport transfer exercise.
MAHB currently manages and operates 39 airports in Malaysia -- five international, 16 domestic and 18 short take-off and landing ports.
The completion of the new terminal by 2010, will bring MAHB even closer to achieving its targets.
For one thing, developing the ISGIA and placing it among the leading airports in the world, will contribute tremendously to the travel and tourism industry of Turkey.
"Besides this, the terminal will open a new chapter for Malaysia Airports in its overseas endeavors and further reinforce our status as one of the most sought-after service providers in the field of airport operations," Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman, the chairman of Malaysia Airports was quoted as saying after the ground breaking ceremony for the new terminal last year.
MAHB has assigned a number of its experienced personnel to ISGIA to assist in the operations, technical and financial matters of the airport.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, who made a visit to the new terminal early this month, was reported as saying that the project served as an international acknowledgement of Malaysia''s expertise in airport development and management.
He said it was also "a good example of how government-linked companies like MAHB can succeed abroad, on their way to becoming global icons".
Meanwhile, its managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad said MAHB was always looking for new opportunities in countries closer to home like India, China and the Middle East.
He also revealed that discussions have been ongoing with two parties in the Middle East and Africa on the possible management of airports with expectations that talks might hopefully be concluded by the first quarter of next year.
On MAHB''s airport management venture with JSC International Airport Astana (Astana), both have agreed on the mutual termination of the Trust Management Agreement for it effective June 4, this year.
MAHB said the decision was made in view that the expertise, knowledge and experience garnered by Astana from working with MAHB had enabled it to manage and operate the airport independently.
"During the two years under the Trust Management Agreement (TMA), Astana, the second largest international airport in Kazakhstan, had significantly improved its performance," the company said.
Astana also won the Best Airport of Commonwealth of Independent States in 2007, for the category of passenger traffic of more than one million passengers per year.
This increase in passenger traffic and the award received by Astana International Airport is further evidence that MAHB had met the objectives of the TMA.
MAHB’s involvement in ISGIA officially began on March 19, 2008 when the Implementation Agreement for the realisation of the ISGIA Terminal Building and its Complementaries through a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) Model, was signed between the Government of Turkey and the consortium.
The BOT project involved the construction of a new international airport terminal building with a passenger capacity of 25 million in 18 months, besides managing the existing domestic and international terminals.
MAHB''s role was to provide expertise in the area of operation and management of the Airport.
SGIA is the second airport in Istanbul with two terminals, covering an area of 3,300 acres.
After completion of the new terminal, the current international terminal will be converted to an all domestic terminal subsequent to construction of new terminal.
The development of the ISGIA comprised the construction of a new terminal buliding with a total area of 180,000 sq m. The development work also included a four-storey car park building with 4,718 parking lots and a six-storey hotel with 128 rooms.
As an airport operator, MAHB took a minimum equity stake of 20 per cent in the joint venture.
The total concession fee is 1.93 billion euro (about RM9.7 billion) and is structured over a 20-year concession period, with no concession fees payable in first three years. - Bernama
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