SINGAPORE BEGINS CONSTRUCTION OF CHANGI TERMINAL 5, SET TO OPEN BY MID-2030S

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz

SINGAPORE, May 14 (Bernama) -- Construction of Singapore Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 (T5), the city-state’s mega terminal, officially began on Wednesday, following a two-year pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Singapore Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the new terminal would increase Changi Airport’s current capacity by more than 50 per cent.

"In terms of land area, T5 will be as big as all of our current terminals combined. So it will expand Changi's current capacity by over 50 per cent, allowing us to serve about 50 million more passengers annually," he said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

T5 will be located within the 1,080-hectare Changi East development area. It will be linked to the existing terminals at Changi Airport so that the airport can operate as a single integrated air hub.

Wong said the expansion plan, first announced in 2013 with planning and preparatory works beginning soon after, had to be paused during COVID-19.

“We made use of the time to refresh and improve our designs,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the prime minister said T5 will be the new home for the Singapore Airlines Group (SIA Group), which currently operates across three terminals.

SIA Group’s Singapore Airlines and its low-cost carrier Scoot currently operate out of Terminals 1, 2, and 3.

“There will still be space for other carriers to grow their fleets at T5, and across Changi,” he said.

The prime minister said T5, expected to be operational by the mid-2030s, will enable Changi Airport to achieve its goal of having networks of connections to more than 200 cities. It currently has around 170 city links.

He added that T5 will also be better connected to the rest of Singapore than Changi currently is.

"There will be a dedicated ground transportation centre to bring together all the transfer options for passengers – car, taxi, MRT, bus," he said.

Wong noted that the Thomson-East Coast Line MRT will not only be extended to connect T5 to the city centre, but will also connect to the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS Link) terminal at Woodlands North.

T5 also offers the possibility of enhanced air and sea connectivity for more seamless passenger travel, including convenient connections to neighbouring destinations via ferry services from the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

Wong noted that the multi-year project will bring significant opportunities to Singapore, including more jobs for Singaporeans and a demand for new skill sets in areas like data science, robotics, and sustainability.

“The construction itself is a significant complex project and our local businesses will have the chance to participate in this process,” he said.

Currently, Changi Airport is the fourth busiest international hub in the world. It handled an annual record 68.4 million passenger movements for the year ended March 31, 2025.

-- BERNAMA