SEPANG (Aug 16): The Government is looking into the possibility of setting up a new centre for the aviation industry in Malaysia as the 25,000 acres of reserved land surrounding Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) seems inadequate to support the growth of the industry, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"That time we (only) thought of expansion for KLIA but we never (took into account) the low-cost carrier industry.

"Our expectation (then was) when we reached 25 million passengers we have to build a new satellite, but (even) before we could do that we have low-cost airlines which contribute 40 million passengers and now we have a new terminal," he said.

Speaking to reporters after visiting AirAsia's headquarters RedQ here today, Dr Mahathir said the airlines business was expanding.

"We have to follow the trend, mostly it will be low-cost flying and there will be demand for the planes," he said.

Dr Mahathir said there were also several countries which expressed their interest in assembling planes and helicopters in Malaysia.

He added that while there is no timeline for the new centre to be realised, it must be established as soon as possible.