Changi Airport’s claim to be one of Asia-Pacific’s biggest hubs is supported by inexorable expansion, which has led to passing the 60 million passenger mark last year. Further evidence comes from ongoing site preparation for Changi East, to house the planned Terminal 5, and an upgraded Runway 3, which to date has been limited to military operations.
Changi Airport’s new Terminal 4 opened on Oct. 31, 2017, and the airport achieved the passenger milestone less than two months later. According to the Airports Council International, Changi was the world’s sixth busiest international airport in 2016, behind only Hong Kong in the region.
“Changi Airport has set a new record in passenger movements in 2017, welcoming 60 million passengers [for the calendar year] on December 18. The steady growth in aviation is expected to continue, with Asia as the center of aviation growth in the next 20 years. So passenger numbers at Changi look set to increase further in 2018,” a spokesman for Changi Airport Group (CAG) told AIN.
Terminal 4 will serve both full-service and low-cost carriers, with an annual passenger capacity of 16 million. This brings Changi Airport's total passenger capacity to 82 million per annum. Cathay Pacific was the first airline to operate from Terminal 4.
“Financial year 2016-17 was marked by a more positive market environment for the aviation industry, with many airlines restructuring and reengineering their businesses. Low fuel prices further helped the industry grow faster than the global economy,” CAG chairman, Liew Mun Leong, and CEO, Lee Seow Hiang, wrote in remarks in the company's 2016-17 annual report.
“Against this backdrop, Changi Airport performed well with passenger movements hitting a record of 59.4 million, representing a growth of 4.6 percent. The airport also enjoyed a 5 percent growth in concession sales, achieving an all-time high of S$2.4 billion [US$1.8 billion]. At the same time, we made good progress on our development projects.”
Since Singapore is an island only 50 km (31 miles) long, almost all flights to and from the destination are, by definition, international. A new passenger terminal building at Seletar Airport in Singapore, the hub of business-aviation operations, will also entail a large increase in passenger capacity.
“With the new Terminal 4, and our upcoming development projects such as the expansion of Terminal 1, the Changi East project, as well as a new passenger terminal at Seletar Airport, we are ensuring that our country's airports continue to have sufficient capacity to meet the region’s demand for air travel in the decades ahead,” Hiang said.
Changi East
With Terminal 4 having started operations, the airport’s focus is shifting to the Jewel Changi Airport project, set to come online in 2019, as well as developing Terminal 5 (also known as Changi East).
Jewel Changi Airport is a mixed-use airport terminal complex now under construction in the Terminals 1 and 3 area on land that was originally allocated for Terminal 1 car-parking, and will cost an estimated S$1.7 billion (US$1.28 billion). It is designed for leisure, retail, hotel, and airport operations.
As a greenfield development site, Changi East’s basic infrastructure, including utilities, water management systems, ground transportation (road and MRT) will take several years to build before airport facilities are commissioned.
An inter-agency Changi 2036 Steering Committee, established in 2012 to develop a plan for Changi’s expansion, included a recommendation to construct Terminal 5.
“Land preparation works for Changi East started in 2014, and as the area is situated on reclaimed land made of soft marine clay, almost toothpaste-like texture, ground improvement works to about one third of the site are necessary to increase the strength of the soil before new airport facilities can be constructed,” said the spokesman. “Works [are] expected to continue till about 2020.”
The 1,080-hectare site also involves the development of a three-runway system, as well as aviation facilities, tunnel, and canal systems to drain excess water from the site, and other related infrastructure and transport links.
"Besides T5, the scope of works for this mega-project also includes the operationalization of a three-runway system, the construction of tunnels and other underground systems, and the development of cargo complexes and other supporting infrastructure," the CAG said in a press release.
“Changi Airport currently operates two runways, serving its four terminals. To ensure adequate runway capacity for the airport’s continued growth beyond this decade as well as to cater to the future Terminal 5, an existing third runway [Runway 3-21] used by the military will be converted for joint military-civilian use,” said the spokesman.
“Runway 3 will be lengthened to 4 km [13,123 feet] to handle larger passenger aircraft, and more than 40 km [25 miles] of supporting taxiways will be developed to connect it to the rest of Changi Airport. This involves pavement, drainage and associated works.”
Terminal 5 will have an initial capacity of 50 million passengers per annum (mppa), bringing Changi Airport’s total handling capacity to 135 mppa by the end of the next decade. The terminal will also be connected to the MRT network.
"When fully completed with a capacity similar to that of Terminals 1 to 3 combined, Terminal 5 will be connected to the airport's existing terminals to allow the expanded facility to be operated as a single, integrated airport for ease of transfer between different terminals," CAG said.
The group continued, “2018 looks to be an equally exciting year for the Changi East team: the Master Building Consultant and Master Civil Consultant for Terminal 5 will be appointed, allowing work on the terminal design to [move into] a new gear,” it said.
“And upon the successful testing of the upgraded Runway 3, it will be commissioned and handed back to RSAF for military use, until the taxiways and other supporting infrastructure for the entire three-runway system is completed.”
According to the latest annual report of Civil Aviation Authority Singapore, construction for the new Seletar Passenger Terminal Building also commenced in October 2016. “Slated for completion by the end of 2018, the two-story terminal will be large enough to handle up to 700,000 passengers annually. This is 26 times the number of passengers that Seletar Airport currently caters for,” it said.