Construction on Changi Airport T5 begins, set to open in mid-2030s

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong officiated the groundbreaking ceremony for Changi Airport Terminal 5 on May 14, 2025.

First announced in 2013, T5, a mega terminal, is expected to open in the mid-2030s.

T5 is designed to handle about 50 million passenger movements annually.

The terminal is located in the new 1,080-ha Changi East development, which also includes the Changi East Industrial Zone (CEIZ) and the Changi East Urban District (CEUD).

Changi Airport Group CEO Yam Kum Weng said:

"Our vision is for T5 to be mega yet cosy, a terminal that embraces the Changi DNA - delivering a personalised, stress free and positively surprising airport experience."

According to CNA, SIA and Scoot flights will operate from the new Terminal 5 at Changi Airport when it opens.

What T5 will look like

T5 will be divided into three "sections", T5A, T5B and T5C, located at 1km intervals.

A third runway is expected to come into use before T5 is operationalised.

T5A will be where the arrival and departure halls, immigration, and baggage collection will be situated.

Boarding gates and other services will be situated in T5A, T5B and T5C.

An underground automated people mover (APM) system, similar to the existing Skytrain services, will allow passengers to get around the terminal with ease.

The APM system will also link T5 to T2.

T5 will feature a "roof leaves" design, characterised by overlapping curved roofs with varying heights that break the mega terminal building into smaller spaces.

According to CAG, transfer times at T5 will be less than 60 minutes.

T5 will also have one of the largest rooftop solar systems in Singapore, with the potential to generate enough solar energy to power about 20,000 4-room HDB flats for a year.

TEL and CRL connectivity

There are plans to extend both the Thomas-East Coast Line (TEL) and the Cross Island Line (CRL) to T5 to connect it to the city centre and other major hubs.

T5 could also possibly connect to the nearby Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal for enhanced air and sea connectivity, including convenient connections to neighbouring destinations via ferry services.

Incorporating pandemic lessons

Design work for T5 was paused in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and resumed in 2022.

Lessons were incorporated from the global pandemic, including T5 having the capacity to operate as smaller sub-terminals when needed to facilitate the management of high-risk passengers.

Systems such as contactless passenger touch points will also be in place to reduce disease transmission.

There are various ongoing trials to extensively automate both passenger-facing processes and back-end functions.

All images courtesy of Changi Airport Group