LCCT to be closed on May 9

Low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) will be closed on May 9 to facilitate the opening of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2).

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said the KLIA2 will begin operation as scheduled on May 2, involving four airlines.

He said the first flights to operate from the new airport will be Cebu Pacific, Malindo Air, Tiger Airways dan Tiger Air Mandala.

He said the public will also be given opportunity to visit the KLIA2 on its Open Day, the first day of its operation.

“We hope AirAsia will also move to KLIA2 in that week as we will be closing the LCCT a week later,” he said after officiating Airport Cities World Conference and Exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Tuesday.

“We will also move all the other government agencies like Immigration and Customs Department to the KLIA2,” he added.

Meanwhile, Abdul Aziz estimated that the cost of the KLIA2 construction would not exceed the earlier estimation of RM4 billion.

He said the Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) is still in the process of estimating the cost of construction.

“I believe the cost will be within the budget, though we have not seen the final figure. As explained by the MAHB, it will still be below RM4 billion,” he added.

In 2009, the cost of the airport construction was estimated at RM1.7 billion but the figure rose to RM 4 billion following several additional facilities like automatic baggage management system.

KLIA 2 is expected to be able to facilitate 45 million passengers per year.