Kelantan development briefing receives positive feedback from federal govt, says MB

KOTA BARU, May 9 ― The meeting between Kelantan and federal government on May 2 on the state development received very positive feedback, said Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud.

He said the meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim discussed several things to assist the people of Kelantan.

“Several matters announced by the Prime Minister (Anwar), among which, the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (LTSIP) will be upgraded to become an international airport, flood mitigation and resolving the problem of drainage system in the rice fields.

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“Our patriotic spirit is high and the relationship between the Kelantan government and the federal government has been very good since the beginning. Therefore, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for assisting the state government,” he told reporters after the sending-off ceremony of the hajj pilgrims at the Kompleks Islam Jubli Perak Sultan Ismail Petra in Panji, last night.

Mohd Nassuruddin said the relationship between the state and federal governments is good.

“The issue of political differences (between Kelantan and federal) should only be discussed during elections, what is important now is the time to help the people and develop the state and the country,” he said.

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Meanwhile, commenting on the upgrade of the new LTSIP terminal, Mohd Nassuruddin expressed hope that LTSIP will have direct hajj flights from Kota Bharu to Jeddah.

“We hope that by next year LTSIP can be categorised as an international airport and have direct flights from Kota Bharu to Jeddah once the 400-metre runway is completed,” he said.

On May 2, the federal government agreed with the Kelantan government's proposal to extend the runway at the LTSIP by 400 metres to become an international airport.

Anwar reportedly said that he had asked Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook to expedite the ongoing construction of the LTSIP.

The Phase One terminal can accommodate 1.5 million passengers, while Phase Two, which will be constructed immediately, can accommodate four million passengers.

The new terminal has over 20 airline counters, multi-storey car parks, special lanes for taxis, a fire and rescue station, additional space for parking aircraft and an LTSIP cashless operating system for the benefit of passengers.

The LTSIP expansion and upgrading projects cost RM440 million. ― Bernama