ISTANBUL, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Initial work for the permanent low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang will begin next month, said Deputy Minister of Transport Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri on Thursday.

"If everything goes as planned, site preparation work will start next month," he told Malaysian journalists who are here for the official opening of the new terminal at Istanbul Sabiha Gocken International Airport.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB), which manages all the airports in Malaysia, is part of the consortium awarded the contract to undertake construction of the terminal which will be officially opened tomorrow.

Other partners are GMR Infrastructure Limited of India and Limak Group, a Turkish company that developed, managed and operates the Istanbul Sabiha Gocken International Airport.

MAHB Chairman Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman, who was present at the media conference, said MAHB was in the process of appointing consultants for the various packages of the terminal project. The packages are slated for completion in 2011.

Abdul Rahim said the contracts for the project were divided into more than 30 packages comprising air and land segments.

He said the air segment involves the extension of the runway, taxiway and apron while the land component is the construction of the terminal, hotel dan related facilities such as the shopping arena.

It also entails the building of a RM10 million two-kilometre Express Rail Link (ERL) linking KLIA and LCCT under the stimulus package.

"The tender will be called as soon as the design is completed," he said.

The deputy minister said the entire terminal, estimated to cost about RM2 billion, will be built about two kilometres from KLIA.

The new terminal will have the capacity to handle up to 30 million passengers a year compared to 11 million travellers by the existing facility.

"The present LCCT is very congested. When it was built, the expected passenger volume was only 10 million and now it is handling 11 million travellers and heading towards 13 million to 14 million people within a short span of time.

"With more regional low cost airlines flying to Malaysia, I believe the new terminal will provide a very good aviation infrastructure and will bring in more tourists to Malaysia," he said.

With the widely anticipated global economic recovery, he said the country can expect a more active travel sector, with more people coming to Malaysia.

Commenting on Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Istanbul from Oct 25, Abdul Rahim said it will increase travellers from both sides.

"I believe Malaysia will enjoy a big boon in the tourism sector.

"The current air service agreement between Malaysia and Turkey is adequate. What is important now is to woo more airlines to fly to Malaysia," he added. (By NASRIAH DARUS/Bernama)