The Australian government estimates that it might cost AUD60 million (RM181.1 million) to proceed with the next phase of the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, as the search area for the jetliner moves deeper into the southern Indian Ocean.
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss broke out the ballpark figure during a joint press conference in Canberra with Malaysia’s acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hussein and Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang.
Truss explained that the next phase of the search will include the need for new assets such as a synthetic aperture snoar to map the ocean floor. He added that the US Navy had agreed to extend its loan of the Bluefin-21 submersible craft, which has been carrying out the brunt of the undersea search, for another month.
The Australians will be moving the offices of its Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) from Perth to the capital in Canberra, in order to facilitate easier communication between Australian government officials with their counterparts from Malaysia and China.
“The estimated cost of A$60 million is what the Australians estimate. We will discuss with Malaysia and China and all other parties if they are interested,” Truss said in the news conference, as reported by The Malay Mail Online.
As it is, the search for Flight MH370 is already estimated to be the most expensive search operation in the history of commercial aviation.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing. It was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. Military radar later showed the Boeing 777-200ER had doubled back from its intended flight path, and satellite data tracked the plane to an uncharted section of the Indian Ocean, before it completely disappeared.
