This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 17, 2025 - March 23, 2025

TALK of the much-contested proposal to relocate Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to Kimanis, a town some 60km south of the state capital, has come to an end, with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd kick-starting optimisation efforts for the existing facility in Kepayan.

Malaysia Airports tells The Edge that the expansion project for KKIA, the nation’s second-busiest airport after Kuala Lumpur International Airport, officially kicked off with the appointment of a design consultant in the fourth quarter of last year, marking the start of the design development phase.

“Currently, we are actively conducting workshops to ensure that the design aligns with stakeholder requirements and supports a seamless airport experience. Once finalised, construction is scheduled to start in the third quarter [of this year],” says Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani.

This corroborates with Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s announcement last November that the cabinet had approved a RM442.3 million upgrade for KKIA, to be fully funded by Malaysia Airports.

According to Mohd Izani, there were already efforts to improve the airport as early as 2023.

“Notwithstanding [the upgrade], enhancement and optimisation efforts in KKIA had begun in 2023 and are currently ongoing.

“That includes improving air quality and temperature by installing tinting insulation; refurbishing terminal seats, the surau and 52 washrooms; adding 250 trolleys; enhancing the buggy service; upgrading self-service check-in; and improving WiFi connectivity, all of which have been completed.

“In addition, works are ongoing to complete the refurbishment of air-conditioning chillers; enhance the bag drop facilities; resurface the runway and taxiways; upgrade passenger boarding bridges; and strengthen security fencing and CCTV operations,” he says, affirming that the KKIA enhancement project remains on track, as planned.

“[Furthermore,] the privatisation of Malaysia Airports has brought in new shareholders who are committed to driving growth, as well as enhancing service quality and capacity. This strengthens our ability to invest in airport upgrades.”

Malaysia Airports was recently taken private by a consortium comprising Khazanah Nasional Bhd, the Employees Provident Fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Global Infrastructure Partners. It was delisted from Bursa Malaysia on Feb 25.

Talk of a new airport in Kimanis, purportedly to span 15,000ha, surfaced in June 2022 when Sabah’s strategic investment arm Qhazanah Sabah Bhd and Berjaya Land Bhd (KL:BJLAND) signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the relocation of KKIA.

Qhazanah Sabah was tasked with doing a feasibility study to explore the capacity constraints of KKIA, expansion limitations, urban development restrictions and strategic positioning that sought to position Sabah as a significant travel hub in East Asia.

At the time, KKIA was understood to have a capacity of 9.4 million passengers per annum (mppa), with projections indicating that passenger traffic could reach up to 36mppa by 2035.

While Qhazanah Sabah had reportedly said KKIA was unlikely to be able to expand further in operational terms, including runways, owing to limited land area, as the surrounding area was privately owned land, detractors argued that the economic impact of the upheaval would be detrimental to local and supporting businesses in nearby districts. They said it would also, among other reasons, inconvenience inbound tourists, a major revenue contributor to Sabah’s economy.

Ultimately, the critics questioned the necessity of such an expenditure, suggesting that funds could be better utilised to enhance the state’s existing infrastructure or address other pressing needs in the region. Note that while the relocation of KKIA was mooted by several parties, with Qhazanah estimating that construction of a new airport in Kimanis would take three to five years, details about its cost were not made available.

By July 2023, a feasibility study was reportedly completed and presented to the Sabah Economic Planning Unit and the Ministry of Transport. In early 2024, however, Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Sri Hajiji Noor and Loke confirmed there were no plans to relocate the airport, citing the sufficiency of the existing facility.

To this end, Malaysia Airports says it developed the 2050 KKIA Master Plan, which has been presented to the Ministry of Transport. According to Mohd Izani, the plan includes inventory of the existing airport’s facilities, operations, land use, long-term traffic forecasts on future air traffic demand to ensure timely capacity enhancements and identifies KKIA’s potential to expand and accommodate up to 21mppa by 2050 at the current location.

“Based on the projections, KKIA is expected to reach 11mppa by 2030. As such, the current focus is on optimising and expanding existing airport infrastructure to effectively meet future demand,” he says.

For now, all eyes will be on the timely delivery of the optimisation works by 2027, and discipline to keep within the allocated budget of RM442.3 million.

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