The most budget aircraft AirAsia will the budget the fares and even decrease up to a 15 per cent reduction in prices when the airline proposed a low-cost terminal opening in Labu, Negri Sembilan, in February 2011.

One of the senior offical of the airline said that the airline’s plan was always to look for a cheaper venue to lower costs as it was paying about RM100

‘MAB is charging us too much. We have been looking for another place for a long time, whether it was to buy or build a new airport,’ he told The Star on Saturday.

The current terminal at Sepang was only a temporary measure because it could handle about 10 million passengers yearly and as expected by next March will reach to 15 million.

‘AirAsia needs an airport that can handle more than 15 million by 2011,’ the official said.

The to be devloped airport will be costing around RM1.6 billion under a private finance initiative between conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd and AirAsia on a 2,800ha plot in Labu, which is between Nilai and Bandar Enstek.

The new terminal will be large enough to handle some 15 million passengers yearly and will feature a wider array of shops as part of an integrated city in Labu, comprising five townships and facilities for education, health, sports, high technology and entertainment.

Closer to the nation’s capital than the current low-cost carrier terminal, a 7km link to the North-South Expressway was also slated to be built, along with an Express Rail Link to KL International Airport.

The shuttles between the main terminal and LCCT will also be provided and even the road and rail links between KLIA and the new LCCT would also be privately financed,’ the AirAsia official said.

He also said the cost of operating the new airport would be lowered by incorporating advanced technology and it being run privately without government bureaucracy.

‘The airport will be built entirely by us. The latest technology and better retail facilities will mean more money. More money will mean lower airport tax and fares.’