KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — The Selangor government has long requested and worked towards Putrajaya’s plans to upgrade and expand the Subang Airport, which was revealed in the Budget 2023, says Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari.
The Menteri Besar said that the state administration had proposed the plan to the Finance and Transport Ministries and that the efforts would benefit everyone including tourists.
In the Federal budget unveiled yesterday, the development project that will be spearheaded by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) would also include upgrades to the Penang International Airport.
“The budget was prepared to accommodate all parties, including the low-income (B40) and middle-income (M40) groups, even though the Prime Minister at the start raised several concerns, such as the national debt and the relatively slow economic movement.
“However, in addition to welfare projects, I believe that the Prime Minister had also put a lot of effort into improving infrastructure projects and renovating public transport facilities, such as the airports.
“Upgrade to the Subang Airport and the proposed development of the main port on Carey Island is in line with what we (the state administration) have raised in the First Selangor Plan (RS-1),” he said when met after the tabling of the Budget 2023 by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in the Dewan Rakyat, here yesterday.
Anwar outlined the strategy in Budget 2023 to develop the two airports to attract more investors, businesses and tourists. He said the project will be handled by MAHB and is expected to benefit the country’s economy.
Anwar said that the government also will support the proposed development of the main port on Carey Island by the private sector, in supporting the growth of international trade.
Meanwhile, Amirudin, who is also the Gombak MP, had welcomed the plans by the Federal government to build new schools and flood mitigation projects, which include the construction of a dual-purpose reservoir.
“Building new schools is important as we are facing a critical phase of overcrowded schools and we hope that this would be expedited. This includes providing laptops which would help in the national digitalisation process.
“I also welcome the food security and education efforts, such as vocational technical training (TVET), which will be the focus in the debate (on the federal budget),” he said.
With the Ministry of Education receiving the highest allocation under Budget 2023 with RM55.2 billion, Anwar announced that RM560 million will be used to build seven new schools, including Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Paya Dusun, Terengganu; SMK Denai Alam, Selangor; SMK Nabalu, Sabah; and SMK Dudong, Sarawak.
As for flood mitigation efforts, the Prime Minister said that there would be no more direct negotiations and for this year, six flood management projects will be re-tendered at the latest by June, which involves the project in Sungai Johor, Kota Tinggi, Johor; construction of dual-function reservoir and raw water supply source in Sungai Rasau and Sungai Klang, Selangor and the development of Phase 3 Sungai Golok Integrated River Basin Development Project.
