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With the transition to living with the Covid-19 pandemic, Changi Airport will be getting a boost with a "huge" new terminal.

Prime Minister (PM) Lee Hsien Loong announced the upcoming developments to Singapore's seaport and airport at the National Day Rally 2022 on Aug. 21.

Changi Terminal 5 will be "huge"

Delivering his speech at Institute of Technical Education Headquarters at Ang Mo Kio, PM Lee said the Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) project has since restarted after a two-year pause due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During these two years, long-term prospects for air travel and Changi Airport Terminal 5's (T5) design were reassessed during the two years when the T5 project was paused.

PM Lee said the "future of aviation remains bright" with borders re-opening and air travel picking up, adding that air travel in the region is expected to continue growing in the longer term.

T5 redesigned to be 'more resilient'

T5 has been redesigned to be "more resilient" in the event of a pandemic. This will allow the terminal to operate more safely and flexibly, scale its operations up and down more easily, and isolate passengers from different flights to limit cross infection.

It has also been designed to be "greener and more energy-efficient".

PM Lee said the "huge" terminal is expected to be completed in the mid-2030s, and it will serve around 50 million passengers a year, which is more than the total number of passengers from Terminal 1 and 3.

There will be a new district named the Changi East Urban District next to T5. It is primed to be a new business and lifestyle destination that will create more jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans.

Tuas Port will be world's largest fully automated port

PM Lee also gave an update on seaport developments.

The government previously decided to consolidate all the port operations from the existing Tanjong Pagar, Brani, Keppel and Pasir Panjang terminals into one mega port at Tuas as they anticipated growth in the Asia region.

This would also free up prime waterfront land from Shenton Way to Pasir Panjang for the future Greater Southern Waterfront.

Port operations have already started shifting to Tuas, where the first two berths started operations in December 2021.

PM Lee said the new Tuas Port will be the world’s largest fully automated port.

It uses AI to coordinate operations, including vessel traffic management and port clearance, more seamlessly and deploys a fleet of driverless AGVs (Automated Guided Vehicles) instead of trucks.

The Tuas Port has just completed its first phase and its subsequent phases – II, III and IV – will soon follow.

It is expected to be fully complete in around 20 years time, where it will handle 65 million TEUs annually. This is twice the volume of the record high of 37.5 million TEUs in Singapore in 2021.

Long-Term Plan Review

The improvements to Singapore's seaport and airport will keep the nation a thriving business and trading hub as both play a critical role in putting the country on the global stage, PM Lee said.

This is part of Urban Redevelopment Authority's Long-Term Plan Review, which plans Singapore’s economic infrastructure and rethinks what Singapore will look like in the next 50 years at a minimum.

According to PM Lee, the plan takes in feedback and ideas from the public to guide the nation's development in the future.

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Top image courtesy of Ministry of Communications and Information