The Malaysian Transport Ministry is to upgrade the Miri Airport (MYY) in Sarawak, Malaysia, to handle the increasing numbers of international passengers. The MYR285 million (US$72 million) upgrade will see the construction of separate departure and arrival halls (which the airport does not currently have) and the provision of further covered walkways and apron extension.

The expansion was announced by Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai when declaring open the newly extended apron and covered walkway of the airport costing RM68 million last week. Liow said the upgrades will enable the airport to handle up to four million passengers annually, up from the present two million design capacity.

“I am very happy that the three items I requested for which are upgrading of Miri Airport to Miri International Airport with international standard facility, extension of the airport to overcome congestion and additional car parks for the airport, have been approved through the RM285 million upgrading project,” he said according to The Star Online.

The airport sees more than 60 scheduled flights a day by AirAsia, MASwings, Malaysia Airlines and Emirates (via Kuala Lumpur), as well as AirAsia out of Singapore. The airport also has cargo operations via four carriers: Raya Airways, DHL Express, Asia Cargo Express (formerly Gading Sari) and Neptune Air.

Liow said the upgrade would be relatively easy as Miri already had most of the requirements for international passenger handling. “Upgrading Miri Airport to Miri International status is not much of a problem as it already has immigration counters and flights coming in from overseas,” he added in reference to flights from Singapore.

The upgrade plan follows the recent announcement of a new direct scheduled flight between Hong Kong and Kuching by Hong Kong Airlines, due to start late April.