REVIEW OF KLIA 2 CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

A modern, purpose-built mega terminal, Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) is a

new project which is design to replace the older and affordable terminal at the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport. The new terminal features a top 133.8 m (438 ft) high tower with the
world's largest air traffic control (ATC) system. Due to demand from the area and growth, the
development of airport expansion including Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2. KLIA2
marks the nation 's worldwide growth and leadership in airline industry and will serve as an
economic stimulus for the economy (Sahrir et al., 2012).
KLIA2 will provide seamless connectivity to local and international low-cost and full-service
carriers as Malaysia's Next Generation International Airport Hub. It is planned to follow the
exponential development of the low-cost tourism market, which services 45 million
passengers a year. With KLIA2 completed, the airport's total capacity would hit 85 Million.
But most importantly, it will reduce the congestion on the additional KLIA2 runway.
Moreover, KLIA2 is a retailer airport as well. The huge terminal is due to the huge space for
retail. The table shows the comparison between KLIA, LCCT and KLIA2;

Table 1.0: Comparison between KLIA, LCCT and KLIA2

Construction of the new carrier terminal began in September 2010 and its inauguration is
held in May 2014. KLIA2 is expected to launch in September 2011, as reported first in 2009.
It was accompanied by the extension of the series on June 28, coinciding with KLIA's debut
15 years earlier [ CITATION Yon131 \l 17417 ].
The expected launching date is a conventional estimation, according to Angeline Chin who is
an analyst of Alliance Investment Bank, after recently meeting the Malaysia Airports
Holdings Bhd (MAHB) management, the project manager of this new airport. MAHB, an
organization associated with the nation, run the KLIA and other airports, including India and
Kazakhstan. The analyst mentioned in the Straits Times that it is guaranteed would take at
least six months for KLIA2 to open. It is also predicted that the project would be overtaken by
some RM500 Million, mostly due to higher consultancy and labour costs, because of the
delay.
MAHB stated that the opening of KLIA2 would not be on time as the building schedule had
been delayed by contractors, UEM Construction and Bina Puri Holdings Bhd [ CITATION
BKS13 \l 17417 ]. The contractors denied the argument, however, claiming that the delay was
due to the confusion on terminal design by MAHB and AirAsia. An analyst from Maybank, Mr
Mohshin Aziz, told The Straits Times that MAHB is being tightly overcome, when it expects
KLIA2 to open after repeated delays [ CITATION Yon131 \l 17417 ].
There are various reasons triggering the loss of KLIA2 by MAHB, where the project's
estimated cost grew from its initial budget of RM1.9 Billion to RM4 Billion[ CITATION The13 \l
17417 ] and the gap of completion by more than 2 years. According to research from Naidu
(2014), the delay and cost overrun were mostly caused by changes to the airport
configuration and its capacity which initially meant to accommodate 30 million passengers,
however the increase expected in Air Asia was up to 45 million passengers a year. The
KLIA2 terminal was upgraded to 257,000 sq.m, during its construction phase, an increase of
71% of its original capacity.
Instead of anticipating and managing the changes, KLIA2 participants began pointing at
each other's finger. For starters, Air Asia Bhd, government agencies, and the key contractor
are being shot by the MAHB from every side to postpone completing the KLIA2 (Naidu,
2014). This shows clearly that before the project implementation period, there was no prior
debate with associated agencies and departments.

Examine all 3 aspects of project performance (Time,Cost,Scope) supported by relevant

evidences.
REFERENCES

Editor, T. (2013). Completion of klia2 delayed further. TheEdge.

Nie, Y. Y. (2013). New KL budget terminal faces delay, cost overruns. The Straits Times.
Sidhu, B. (2013). MAHB shares down on KLIA2 delay. The Star

Naidu, K. S. (2014). Klia 2.

https://www.academia.edu/8635137/Project_Management_Assignment_on_KLIA2?
auto=download
Sahrir, S., Khalid, U. A., Bohari, Z. A., Bachok, S., & Osman, M. M. (2012). Airport
expansion: The Malaysian experience of KLIA2. 2012 World Conference of Air
Transport Research Society, 1–24. http://irep.iium.edu.my/29020/