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Work on Changi Airport Terminal 5 will be restarted after a two-year pause.

Transport Minister S Iswaran said on May 17 that construction should start in about two to three years and T5 will be ready to operate around the mid-2030s, The Straits Times reported.

Construction was halted in May 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic was in its fifth month, and when air travel fell and growth projections were thrown into doubt.

However, the aviation industry is recovering faster than expected from the pandemic.

T5's completion will help build up future capacity in time for the anticipated increase in passenger traffic, Iswaran said at the inaugural two-day Changi Aviation Summit held at Sands Expo & Convention Centre attended by 300 participants, according to ST.

"Given the current and projected recovery in air travel demand, we have a renewed impetus to secure our infrastructural capacity for growth," he said.

Iswaran added that T5's design has been updated to become more modular and flexible, and will be refined.

Air travel recovery

The number of passengers at Changi Airport crossed 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in May.

The Singapore government's target is 50 per cent by year end.

International air travel is likely to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels by 2023, one year earlier than expected, International Air Transport Authority (Iata) director-general Willie Walsh has said.

T5 was to cover a land area equivalent to about 667 football fields and handle up to 50 million passengers a year in its initial phase.

Changi Airport's total passenger handling capacity will be increased to around 140 million passengers a year, taking into account Terminal 2's upgrading works.

T2's operations continue to be suspended, and will reopen in phases later in 2022.

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