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YOURSAY ‘The company concerned built a mall instead and added in an airport.’

 

KLIA2 is sinking, AirAsia CEO warns

Swipenter: Our showpiece RM4 billion low-cost carrier terminal (or is it a pond) is sinking and flooding again!

 

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has the audacity to say that they "anticipated the problem from the start of construction" but did not take the necessary steps to prevent the sinking problem.

 

Build first then we correct the "anticipated problem"... What good management practice is that?

 

MsiaBaru: Giving excuses after excuses, why haven't you guys learned from the problems faced by other airports and prevent them during its construction, instead of rectifying it after anticipating it to happen?

 

Firestone: When the complaints of uneven tarmac surface were first highlighted, the general manager of the airport drove his Toyota Land Cruiser along the runway and then told a press conference what he had done and that he felt comfortable in his Toyota SUV and declared "no uneven surfaces".

 

The company concerned was supposed to build an airport with a mall added in, but they built a mall instead and added in an airport.

 

Cascara: Indeed, with most of the money spent on the KLIA2 shopping mall/restaurant complex, there was not much left for the runway.

 

Ex-Wfw: Having paid 400 percent above market value for its construction, how could the airport sink? Or was the plan wrongly applied when it was meant for our submarines?

 

Indeed we have begun our entry into the 'failed state' status sooner than we expected. Can the Transport Ministry explain? Or is it the case that 'you weren't around' when the contract was signed?

 

KB Menon: The root cause of the problem lies in the fact that MAHB wants to control all airports in Malaysia.

 

The business model of a low-cost airline calls for a different kind of airport. Everything must be synergised from A to Z to culminate in a true low-cost model for maximum benefit for the airline and passengers.

 

AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes wanted complete control to build the low-cost airport himself; and who better than him to take up that job, knowing the low-cost airline business model intimately.

But he was denied by the powers-that-be and instead all kind of obstacles were put in his path to derail him.

 

Shovelnose: Injecting polyurethane into the ground, under the slab? What sort of engineers have you got to propose this sort of half-baked solution?

 

If one starts off right in the first place, it should not have been located on such poor ground conditions.

 

If one has no other choice, extensive mats of wick piles together with overburdened surcharging method could have been adopted, stone columns or geotextile mat reinforcement with lighter polystyrene blocks to replace/displace bulk without adding load.

 

These surface patching are band-aid solution at best. Polyurethane supposedly expands a little after injection, that is if you have confinement. If you inject into highly plastic mud, what's going to restrain the expansion properly?

 

RatBatBlue: This is the standard fate of all government-funded buildings - schools, hospitals, government departments, even sports complexes.

 

There has been no professional supervision and evaluation during the handing-over process. The construction is good up till the end of the "guaranteed" date and then all starts to crumble.

 

The sad thing is that those partaking in this swindle have no compunction about the consequences in the event of a disaster - how many lives will be lost?

 

LBS: The airport runways, tarmac and taxiways must be constructed according to the international standards.

 

Airport runways are different from highway roads. The ponding, depressions, waterlogged tarmacs and sinking of the runways might not be due to the differential soil settlement.

 

Did the contractors follow the international airport standards for runways, tarmac, taxiways and aprons? Were the runways, taxiways, tarmac and aprons approved by the international airport runways authorities?

 

Vijay47: I landed at KLIA2 from Kuching yesterday and must acknowledge that corruption and tarmac problems aside, this airport with its vibrant, colourful environment is much more impressive than the nearby so-called jewel of Malaysian air travel.

 

My only beef is the poor signage to the taxi stand. Insofar as the facilities and passengers are concerned, the terminal is a pleasure to use. Except when five minutes before scheduled departure time, the boarding gate is changed from P14 to L11.

 

Anon1: Since there are more flights operating from KLIA2 which is about 10 times busier than KLIA, MAHB should consolidate all flights to operate only from KLIA. At present, it is an embarrassment to see only a sprinkling of aircraft around KLIA compared to KLIA2.

 

Why did we build such a big airport if we don't have that kind of volume? And why KLIA2 if KLIA could have handled low-cost flights?

 

Ah yes, the ego, wastage, cronyism and a desire to heap as much problems possible on AirAsia.

 

Mamba: Suddenly the bad karma comes back from all directions because Malaysians have kept a corrupt government for far too long.

 

SemoLina: It has to keep up (or is it keep down) with the ringgit. Now everyone can swim.

 


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