CONSTRUCTION of a seven-storey car park for the Penang International Airport is scheduled to start next month.

Penang Federal Action Council chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said the RM90mil project is expected to complete next year.

“The airport will undergo a RM700mil upgrading works, which will be carried out in several phases.

“Phase One will see RM30mil being spent on ways to optimise the current airport such as long queues at the immigration counter.

Zainal added that the airport expansion is in Phase Four, which is expected to finish in about four years.

“As of now it is still at the conceptual phase and the call for open tender will be done at the end of this year,” he added.

On another note, he said the RM498mil Seberang Jaya Hospital is expected to be completed by next year.

He said the Federal Government will fulfill its promise made in the 2018 Budget for the RM500mil construction of a specialist clinic, building of additional wards with 300 beds at the Penang Hospital and the construction of a new operation theatre at the Balik Pulau Hospital.

“By the end of the year the documents should be ready for open tender,” he said.

Zainal also highlighted that the Federal Government has carried out several initiatives to lessen the people’s burden with its current ‘Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat’ campaign, which is a flash sale of up to 30 basic essentials.

“A total of RM47,300 is subsidised for each programme. To date, eight of ‘Jualan Sentuhan Rakyat’ have been carried out in Penang,” he said, adding that the campaign will continue until June.