KLIA 10^TH ANNIVERSARY AND AWARDS DINNER

YB DATO’ ONG TEE KEAT
MINISTER OF TRANSPORT MALAYSIA

28 JUNE 2008

 

Honourable Tan Sri Nor Mohamad Yaakob,
2^nd Minister of Finance, Malaysia

Honourable Dato’ Seri Azalina Dato’ Othman Said,
Minister of Tourism, Malaysia

Your Excellencies Ambassadors and High Commissioners

His Excellency Tan Sri Datuk Dr Aris Othman,

Chairman, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad

His Excellency Dato’ Seri Bashir Ahmad,

Managing Director, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad

Tan Sri - Tan Sri, Datuk - Datuk.

Ladies and Gentleman.

Salam sejahtera and a very good evening.

Terlebih dahulu, saya ingin mengucapkan ribuan terima kasih di atas jemputan ke majlis makan malam ulangtahun Ke-10 KLIA dan KLIA Awards. Saya ingin merakamkan ucapan setinggi-tinggi tahniah kepada seluruh warga KLIA di atas sambutan ulangtahun yang penuh bermakna ini.

KLIA is Malaysia’s flagship gateway and an icon of the country. The pedestal that KLIA stands upon today is the result of the country’s vision and ambition to build a futuristic world-class airport that would connect Malaysia with the rest of the world in a grand way. As one of the major hubs in the Asia-Pacific region, KLIA now welcomes more than 26.5 million passengers each year.

Clearly, we have come a long way from the days of the Sungai Besi Airport and Subang Airport. Subang Airport, as we fondly remember, was opened way back in 1965. The airport handled 400,000 passengers in the beginning, but these numbers steadily grew to peak at an impressive 15.8 million passengers in 1997. Needless to say, Subang Airport grew until there was no longer room for expansion. Hence, 33 years of operations later, KLIA was born and it was designed to handle up to 100 million passengers a year in future expansions.

I was informed that KLIA was built with grand aviation horizons in mind. Even ten years ago, KLIA was built with Category F runways, which are capable of handling very large aircrafts. These are the kind of carriers that aircraft companies are currently building for the transportation needs of not just for today, but for tomorrow. Even now, the advent of the revolutionary A380 is not a problem for KLIA.

I am pleased to note that KLIA now handles more than 50 airlines and is growing strong. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Malaysia Airports for its efforts in bringing in new airlines into KLIA. Let me assure you that the government supports your marketing initiatives.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The past year had been most exciting for Malaysia Airports. In 2007, Malaysia Airports raked in a record profit of RM403.64 million before tax, a 53.33 percent increase from 2006. In 2007, Malaysia Airports has also surpassed all of its Headline Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in terms of earnings, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and return on equity (ROE). The company’s EBITDA improved by 42.55 percent while the Group’s Total Revenue experienced a growth of 20.74 percent.

Malaysia is very proud of KLIA’s achievement in winning the title of World’s Best Airport in the 15 to 25 million passengers per annum category last year. This is a most prestigious Airport Service Quality Award, conferred by Airports Council International (ACI). This would be the third consecutive year that KLIA has received this recognition.

Despite the presence of newer airports and other competing airports, I am pleased that KLIA continues to win such accolades. This clearly shows that airport users continuously enjoy the KLIA experience.

Nevertheless, we cannot rest on our laurels as the world around us changes and competition intensifies. The aviation industry is currently experiencing an evolutionary phase. In order to keep up with such developments, we must continue to innovate and improve our services and the facilities available at our airports.

The government will continue to support the advancements spearheaded by KLIA to make it the preferred air hub in Asia Pacific. Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the government aims to increase flight frequencies and capacities between Malaysia and other countries to facilitate inbound travellers. The country’s liberal aviation policy has continued to attract foreign airlines to increase their services into Malaysia. We will continue to encourage more air service agreements as it will further boost the good image of KLIA.

In addition, the establishment of a separate terminal for Low Cost Carriers (LCC) has contributed greatly to the growth of domestic tourism in Malaysia. So much so that plans for a bigger and greater LCC terminal are already coming off the drawing board. This is certainly a most exciting time for the Malaysian aviation industry, ladies and gentlemen.

More than just an airport, KLIA plays an important role in creating employment and business opportunities with its emergence as an airport city. This is exactly in line with our initial plans to develop a thriving airport-centred community which is not only economically sound, but also environmentally viable. KLIA remains today, the world’s first and only environmentally-centred airport.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

KLIA’s journey is one paved in a lot of hardship, soaring ambitions and futuristic visions.  Since the days of Sungai Besi Airport and Subang Airport, and now KLIA, we have faced and overcome many obstacles together.

Today, everything has paid off. KLIA greets all our guests with an excellent introduction to our country. Our international recognition is invaluable.

The secret to KLIA’s success lies in the synergy of dedicated people – The airport operator, airlines, service providers, government agencies, retailers, contractors, ground handlers, and many others who have walked hand in hand with us to where KLIA is today. I truly appreciate the commitment and support of everyone who have contributed to KLIA’s success throughout the years.

I am positive that KLIA will continue to grow and be THE hub of the region. I would like to conclude by congratulating Malaysia Airports on arriving at yet another great milestone.

 

Thank you.