GEMAS, May 28 — A new air force base will be built in Sendayan, near Seremban to replace the historic Sungei Besi base in Kuala Lumpur, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today.
Putrajaya wants the sprawling Sungei Besi air base to be redeveloped into a commercial hub under the Greater Kuala Lumpur plan, part of the Najib administration’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).
The prime minister said the project details would be announced soon.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed on June 10 last year that the old air base, which had been turned into a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base, would be closed to make way for the “Greater KL” development project as laid out in the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).
The minister said then the 54-year-old air base would be redeveloped jointly by the government, private sector and foreign investors, and that the ministry had identified several investors from the Middle East with the potential to be involved in the development.
But the high cost of a relocation had been a stalling point.
It is understood that an agreement was signed in May last year which involved the Defence Ministry, the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) which is the developer, and the investors from the Middle East.
The Sungai Besi Airport was Malaysia’s first international airport.
The 162-hectare airport, also known as Simpang, served as the main air link from 1952 to 1965, before Subang Airport was opened.
It was originally used as an airstrip in the 1930s but was turned into an airport after World War 2.
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