Oleh/By		:	DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD 
Tempat/Venue 	: 	LANGKAWI, KEDAH 
Tarikh/Date 	: 	25/07/96 
Tajuk/Title  	: 	THE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT 
			TECHNOLOGY AND GROUND SUPPORT 
			EXHIBITION (AIRPORTEX) 1996 



     1.    Firstly, I would like to extend a warm welcome
    to  all the distinguished guests and participants to
    this  International  Airport Technology  and  Ground
    Support Exhibition or Airportex '96.  The Islands of
    Langkawi,  well-known now as a holiday resort,  have
    also  earned  a place in the aerospace industry  for
    the  Langkawi  International Maritime and  Aerospace
    show  held  here every two years.  Now  the  Islands
    have  been  chosen  to  host yet  another  aerospace
    related  exhibition - Airportex  '96.   I  hope  the
    choice  of  Langkawi as the site for this exhibition
    will  be  welcome by exhibitors and  visitors  alike
    because  apart  from the exhibition, exhibitors  and
    visitors  will  be  able to enjoy  the  many  scenic
    attractions of this resort islands.
    
    2.    Air transport is a rapidly growing industry in
    South East Asia, as it is in the whole of East Asia.
    The  success of the Langkawi International  Maritime
    and  Aerospace exhibition was due to this.  But  air
    transport  is not only about aeroplanes.   More  and
    more  discerning travellers are concerned about what
    happens on the ground.  They are concerned about the
    quality of airports, with their terminals and ground
    handling  facilities.  These  must  match  the  ever
    increasing sophistication of the aircrafts which fly
    passengers to myriads of destinations worldwide.  In
    many  places in South East Asia ground handling  and
    other  services  leave much to be desired.   At  the
    same   time   there   is   awareness   about   these
    shortcomings  and many countries in  East  Asia  are
    rushing to build new airports and upgrade old ones.
    
    3.    The  usual  thing to do is to visit  the  more
    modern airports in other parts of the world.  But an
    exhibition  such  as  this will bring  together  the
    biggest  number of suppliers and their products  for
    professionals and Government representatives to view
    and  to  make primary evaluations.  It will help  to
    acquaint potential developers of airports and ground
    handling operators with the choice of equipment  and
    systems which are available.
    
    4.    The last five years have seen almost explosive
    growth  in the number of outbound leisure travellers
    from  Japan and the newly industrialised nations  of
    Korea,   Taiwan,  Hong  Kong  and   Singapore.    As
    disposable  incomes rise in other rapidly developing
    nations of South East Asia, including Malaysia,  and
    also in the populous nations of China and India, the
    number  of  new air travellers can only continue  to
    increase in Asia.
    
    5.    This  phenomenal  growth,  however,  brings  a
    number  of  challenges in its wake.  Many of  Asia's
    major  international  airports are already suffering
    from  severe  congestion.  In some cases,  passenger
    and  cargo terminals are unable to handle the volume
    of traffic, especially at peak hours, while in other
    cases  airports are unable to handle an increase  in
    the  number  of aircrafts and their increasing  size
    and  capacities  due to runway limitations.   IATA's
    Air  Transport  Action Group (ATAG)  estimates  that
    between 1995 and 2010 more than US$200 billion  will
    have  to be spent on airport infrastructure  in  the
    Asia-Pacific Region if it is to keep pace  with  the
    expected traffic growth.  In cognizance of  this,  a
    massive  round of public and private sector spending
    is  currently  in progress to cater to the  expected
    growth in both passenger and cargo air traffic,  and
    to alleviate problems of congestion on the ground.
    
    6.     Several  massive  new  airport  projects  are
    already  on  the drawing board or under construction
    in  Asia,  including the new  international  gateway
    airports  in  Hong Kong, China, Japan, South  Korea,
    Thailand  and here in Malaysia.  Most of  these  new
    gateway airports are being planned for capacities of
    more than 40 million passengers a year, and will  be
    able  to  accommodate the next  generation  of  very
    large capacity aircraft.  They will also feature the
    latest  in  hi-tech systems to move people,  baggage
    and  cargo,  and  they will be more  environmentally
    sensitive than existing airports.
    
    7.    Malaysia's  all-new Kuala Lumpur International
    Airport, now being constructed on a fast track basis
    at  Sepang  50 kilometres South of Kuala Lumpur,  is
    designed to be among the best in the world,  and  is
    scheduled  for completion less than 18  months  from
    now  in early 1998.  This new airport will serve the
    nation  as  a  whole and the very densely  populated
    Kuala   Lumpur  and  the  Kelang  Valley   area   in
    particular  where  a  whole  new  city  and   modern
    industrial  centre will be located.   It  will  also
    provide Malaysia with a state-of-the-art gateway hub
    airport,  which,  with  its four  runways  and  four
    satellites, should, when completed be able to handle
    more than 40 million passengers per year.
    
    8.    Apart  from  the  high  profile  international
    airports,  upgrading and redevelopment works are  in
    progress   at   many  regional  and   hub   airports
    throughout the region.  Almost every Asian nation is
    in   the   process   of   developing   its   airport
    infrastructure.   China alone has plans  to  upgrade
    and  modernise 140 existing airports  and  to  build
    several  new provincial airports during  the  coming
    decades.  All these will require the installation of
    state-of-the-art  equipment and facilities  if  they
    are to meet the demands of users.
    
    9.    In  the  air there is the problem  of  traffic
    management  systems, which can  also  contribute  to
    congestion.   Bottlenecks  in  airways  over  remote
    areas  and  oceans,  as well as inadequate  approach
    radar   systems   at   some   airports   can   cause
    inconvenient  delays - and can add substantially  to
    airline   fuel   bills.   New  satellite-based   air
    navigation   and  traffic  management  systems   are
    however  already changing all this.   Communication,
    navigation  and surveillance air traffic  management
    (CNS-ATM)  systems are currently being  tested  over
    the South Pacific and it will not be long before the
    aviation  world  reaps the full  benefits  of  these
    latest systems.
    
    10.   The  advent  CNS-ATM systems will  allow  many
    Asian  nations with large land masses  such  as  the
    nations of the Indian subcontinent, China, Mongolia,
    the Central Independent States (CIS) and the Russian
    Far   East,  to  leapfrog  straight  into  the   new
    technology and at a fraction of the price of  having
    to   install  conventional  land-based  networks  of
    beacons and radar stations and VHF radio stations.
    
    11.   The  staging of Airportex '96  is  at  a  most
    opportune time in the light of major developments in
    airport  construction and upgrading particularly  in
    the Asia-Pacific region as well as the rapid strides
    being  made  in areas like air traffic and  airspace
    management  systems  and  technology.   Airportex'96
    also  affords an excellent opportunity for  industry
    professionals  and  experts  to  meet  and  exchange
    views, ideas and share their experiences.  Finally I
    wish  you all a successful exhibition, and  may  you
    enjoy   your  stay  in  Langkawi, the isles of  many
    legends.
    
    12.  On this note I have great pleasure in declaring
    open this Airportex 1996.