Australia has a strong bilateral defence relationship with Malaysia, underpinned by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) presence at Butterworth, shared engagement under the Five Power Defence Arrangements, and defence cooperation activities under the Malaysia-Australia Joint Defence Program. 

The RMAF Butterworth Infrastructure Project aims to re-develop existing Malaysian facilities which have shared use between the ADF, Malaysian Ministry of Defence and Malaysian Armed Force and to conduct service re-fresh works on Australian-leased facilities on base to restore capabilities. 

Construction of the project commenced in Q2 2023 with the delivery of Minor Works, including a new perimeter fence, access road and installation of CCTV (closed-circuit television). Main Works construction is expected to commence in Q3 2023, with completion forecast for Q3 2025. 

The Main Works will see infrastructure construction across the base. This includes:

• Package one:
  • stormwater infrastructure
  • ICT infrastructure
  • incoming potable water supply
  • firefighting infrastructure
  • sewerage infrastructure.
• Package 2:
  • removal of obstacle limitation surfaces penetration
  • rigid threshold replacement
  • rigid taxiway replacement
  • runway repair
  • aeronautical ground lighting upgrade
  • line marking
  • base drainage
  • rugby pitch
  • futsal court
  • exercise building.  

Construction completion is expected in 2025.