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.
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