KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 5): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is projecting a 30% rise in annual capital expenditure (capex) over the next three years, as it embarks on a programme to refurbish and upgrade its airports in Malaysia.
"We will share the absolute figure only when we announce our year-end result for FY17 (financial year ended Dec 31, 2017). Capacity constraints need to be addressed in order to capture traffic growth in future," its managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali told a press conference on the group's business update and 2018 outlook today.
"Apart from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which has exceeded its capacity to handle 25 million passengers per year since 2016, other airports in Langkawi, Kota Baru, Subang and Penang have all exceeded their capacity," he added.
Meanwhile, the airport operator will hold a soft launch of its airside terminal transfer service between KLIA and klia2 in the second quarter of 2018. The service provides airside transfer for baggage and seamless landside transfer of passengers.
Meanwhile, Badlisham described 20l7 as a "productive" year, where the group made significant headway in its delivery of initiatives that will position Malaysia as a preferred hub for the aviation industry and as a destination for high-value businesses.
"This includes high-tech or precision aerospace businesses and those within the digital economy. Our highlights for the year include the launch of the world's first Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) in KLIA Aeropolis, broadening connectivity of our network of airports with landside improvements, as well as services and facilities upgrades," he said.
Apart from the 60-acre DFTZ, which MAHB converted from the old Low Cost Carrier Terminal, Badlisham said MAHB is preparing another 26 acres of land adjacent to it for usage of other logistics-related companies, be it locally-established or international players.
"We are not focusing only on our collaboration with Cainiao Network, but also aiming to develop the industry with other players, so we have this 26-acre land adjacent to it," he said.
MAHB's wholly-owned subsidiary MA eLogistics Sdn Bhd had in November last year formed a joint venture (JV) with Cainiao Smart Logistics Network (Hong Kong) Ltd (Cainiao HK) to develop a regional e-commerce and logistics hub in KLIA Aeropolis.
Cainiao HK owns a 70% stake in the JV, which will be named Cainiao KLIA Aeropolis Sdn Bhd, while MA eLogistics owns the remaining 30%. The JV's issued and paid up capital is RM206.67 million.
Cainiao HK is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cainiao Smart Logistics Network (BVI) Ltd, which is in turn wholly owned by Cainiao Smart Logistics Network Ltd (Cainiao Cayman). Cainiao Cayman is an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
MAHB closed up 2 sen or 0.23% at RM8.80 today, with 2.67 million shares traded, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM14.6 billion.