Road infrastructure upgrades around Penang International Airport are paid for by the Penang government, and not from the airport funding set out in Budget 2027, state Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said at a press conference, Pocket News reported.
Budget 2027, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat on 9 October by Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, set aside RM1.1 billion from the federal government and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to upgrade roads in port and airport areas at Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Tawau, Sandakan and Penang, according to The Star. Road improvements serving the short take-off and landing ports at Long Banga and Ba’Kelalan in Sarawak are covered by the same sum.
Penang had also put its own road works forward for the federal budget. Seven of the state’s 10 priority projects were accepted by the finance ministry for inclusion in the 2027 budget, among them road upgrading works at Bukit Tambun and Permatang Tinggi, FMT noted. Three proposals were not accepted, though the state can raise them again.
Zairil said the airport expansion project carries separate financing arrangements under Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. The federal airport allocation announced in the budget appeared to cover airports nationwide rather than Penang alone, he said.
He added that the government has yet to clarify how that allocation will be distributed across the airports it names, and that the expansion works already under way at Penang International Airport have their own funding in place.
Work on the terminal expansion is a federal initiative. In a July progress update carried by Bernama, the first package of support buildings, utility relocation, infrastructure works and a remote digital tower had reached completion, while airside works including the apron expansion stood at about 70 per cent. The expansion is set to raise the airport’s yearly passenger handling capacity from 6.5 million to 12 million, with completion targeted for 2028.
Road upkeep in Malaysia is shared between the federal government and the states. Federal routes sit with Putrajaya, while state roads and the local network are the state’s responsibility. That split decides which ledger pays for what around the airport.
For now, the roads around Penang International Airport sit on the state’s side of that line, while the RM1.1 billion announced in Budget 2027 covers a wider set of airports, ports and rural airfields across the country.
