Malaysia to transform Subang into ‘aerospace city’

An artist’s impression of ‘Skypark Nexus’

Subang Skypark, Malaysia’s former main air gateway, is set to embark on a MYR420 million (US$135m) development plan to transform it into an ‘aerospace city’ by 2015.

Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported the Executive Director of Subang Skypark, Ravindran Menon, as saying that the ambitious plans would include the expansion of the airport by up to 4.8 hectares, plus the addition of a five aircraft hangars, hotel, aviation museum, theme part and retail mall.

“We are in the final round of talks with our expert joint-venture partner, a local established player in the retail and hotel industry,” Menon told Bernama. “The development, named Skypark Nexus, will have an approximate built-up area of one million square feet (92,900m²) and will rejuvenate the airport’s branding as well as enhance the wholesomeness of customer experience in the airport and its surrounding areas.”

Menon added that negotiations were expected to be concluded by year-end and that development work was likely to commence in January. Construction time has been estimated at 24 months.

Expanding on design concept for Subang, Menon said there were plans for a bridge linking the shopping mall and terminal building “[This is] a concept rarely seen in any other city airports worldwide,” he said.

The former Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, now known as Subang Skypark, was the main airport serving Kuala Lumpur before the opening of Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 1998. It is now the main hub for Firefly and Berjaya Air.

By Mark Elliott, 24 August 2012, Friday 4:24 AM