It will be at least another year before Putrajaya can decide on whether to approve the construction of the Tioman airport, which activists have warned would have a disastrous ecological impact.

Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam) told the Dewan Rakyat that apart from approvals from various government agencies, Putrajaya also had to consider the viability of the proposed Tioman airport under the National Airports Strategic Plan (NASP).

Wee said the NASP kicked off in March and would take 18 months to complete. Apart from studying the nation's existing 42 airports, it will also look into proposals to build new ones.