Changi International Airport: Recent Developments and Expansion Plans

Introduction:

Changi 2036 Steering Committee has predicted that passenger traffic at Changi will grow at an annual compound rate of
5% until the end of 2020, and up to 4% between 2020 and 2030.

Based on data collated by aviation consultancy firm OAG, airports in the region will grow at an annual rate of 4-14%
over the next few years.

To pave the way for the further growth of our aviation sector, the Government concluded eight new Air Services
Agreements in 2012 and expanded five existing ones. More recently, this year, it expanded bilateral air services
agreements with India, Indonesia and Russia.

If plans by ASEAN countries to lift regional flying restrictions on member-country airlines materialise by 2015, they will
also add more pressure to existing and planned infrastructure.

With air traffic growth in Asia-Pacific outpacing that of other regions, industry experts have warned that countries that do
not invest in their airports risk losing business to rivals.

Changi Airport

• Changi Airport Group Limited was formed on the 16th June 2009, the corporatisation of Singapore Changi
Airport followed on 1st July 2009.
• The airport handled 51.2 million passengers in 2012.
• Changi airport employs 32,000 staff.
• Changi airport handled 21.6 million passenger movements between January to May 2013, a rise of 4.8%
compared to the same period in 2012.
• Flight movements at Changi Airport in May 2013 totalled 28,500, a 5.4% increase from May 2012.
• This growth was supported by a healthy increase in air travel between; Singapore and South-East Asia, North-
East Asia and South Asia.
• The airport currently has two runways and three terminals. Terminal 1 was completed in 1981 with an area of
280,020m2, Terminal 2 was built in 1990 with an area of 358,000m2 and Terminal 3 was built in 2008 with an
area of 380,000m2.
• Changi recently renovated Terminal 1 creating an additional 22,000 sqm of new floor space raising the total floor
area of T1 to 308,000sqm.
• Terminal 1 is Changi Airport’s busiest terminal, registering 16.3 million passenger movements in 2011.
• Singapore’s Changi airport has a third runway mainly used by military flights. Minister of State Mrs Teo told
Parliament that Changi will have access to third runway by the end of this decade to cope with a growing
number of flights.
• The runway will be on reclaimed land near the airport with the Changi Coast Road separating them. The new
runway will be redeveloped from an existing one that is now used for military purposes.
• Changi airport has recently won the World Airport Awards, the 4th time it has won it. It is the world’s most
awarded airport with more than 420 accolades.
• There are over 330 retail stores and 120 F&B outlets across the airports’ 3 terminals.
Terminal 4

• Estimated budget of S$600 million (£311 million).

• Ground breaking due to start in 4th quarter of 2013, with operations due to begin in 2017.
• Built on the site of the old Budget Terminal, the development will feature a new two-story terminal building with a
height of 25 metres and a total area of 160,000 square metres.
• While not acting as a direct replacement of the budget terminal, CAG said the new T4 would “primarily handle
narrow body aircraft and be designed to enable quick turnaround of flights”. It will however, handle both full-
service and low-cost airlines.
• There were 5 consortia’s bidding for T4, the winners were (13 different companies, only 4 public)

- SAA Architects Pte Ltd – Lead Agency

- Benoy Ltd

- AECOM Singapore Pte Ltd

- Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner (SEA) Pte Ltd

• The consortium is working closely with CAG’s operations and development teams to integrate operational
requirements into the design of T4.
• There are limited details available surrounding the design of T4. It will be designed in the same style of Changi
airport’s existing Terminals 1 and 2.
• T4 will feature retail outlets and aerobridges at boarding gates. The airport will also focus on new self-service
technologies, such as check-in kiosks and baggage drops.
• The planned capacity of T4 is 16 million passengers a year.
 • T4 will have centralised departure and arrival immigration control as well as pre-boarding security screening for
more efficient deployment of manpower and equipment.
• The baggage sortation will be fully automated to reduce resilience on scarce manpower
• T4 will provide more kiosks for self-check in, self-bag tagging and self- bag drops.

Upgrading Existing Infrastructure

• The airport is planning to invest S$680 million (£353 million) to construct additional parking stands as well as
supporting existing airfield infrastructure, security requirements, specialised airport systems, ancillary building
and road and drainage work.
• There will be a new road tunnel to funnel outgoing traffic directly from T4 onto the East Coast Parkway to ensure
smooth traffic flow.
• A Multi-storey car park with 1,200 spaces will be constructed next to T4.
• Concurrent with the development of T4 major airfield works will also be undertaken at Changi airport to increase
the number of aircraft parking stands, which will be increased by 24% to more than 180.
• With the additional stands and a 4th terminal Changi will be able to handle 73 million passengers by 2018.
• A 38 hectare plot of land located South of T3, housing the airport nursery as well as a reservoir will be converted
into an aircraft parking area to house 17 narrow body and 9 wide body aircraft stands.
• Overhead vehicular bridge across Airport Boulevard will be constructed to enable buses and other airside
vehicles to move from T4 to these aircraft stands.
• Major drainage works will also be undertaken including the construction of a new reservoir to prevent flooding in
the event of torrential rainfall.

Future Expansion Plans – 4th Runway and 5th Terminal

• Even though plans for a third runway and a take-off strip have not been finalised, Changi Airport is studying the
need for a fourth runway to cater for growing traffic after 2030.
• The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has confirmed it is seeking consultants to look into the
feasibility and benefits of a fourth runway while finalising plans to begin a full three runway operation.
• A Singapore contact said the airport is very conscious of the need to plan the full utilisation of the three runways
in a way that will make it less costly or disruptive to add a fourth runway.
• Industry watchers expect that if a 4th runway is eventually built it will be on the same site as the third runway.
• Less than two months after Hong Kong signalled that it will plan for a fourth runway for ‘after 2030′ Singapore
Airport says it is pursuing the same goal.
• The 1,080-hectare site has been earmarked for the construction of a new mega terminal, as well as supporting
facilities like an air cargo centre, by the mid-2020s.
• Master plan for Airport including will be finalised and unveiled this year, said Minister of State for Transport Teo
in Parliament.
• Minister Teo, who heads a high-level committee looking into the airport's future needs, (2036 Steering
Committee) said the next big terminal will not be needed until the mid-2020s.