Singapore's New Airport Terminal To Open In 2008

SINGAPORE_A new terminal at Singapore's Changi Airport, which is being built at a cost of 1.75 billion Singapore dollars (US$1.10 billion; €863 million), will be able to handle 20 million passengers a year when it opens in 2008, Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said Tuesday.

Changi Airport Terminal 3 will boost the airport's annual capacity to 64 million passengers and "further strengthen Singapore's position as the premier aviation hub for the region," said Yeo at a ceremony to mark the completion of the terminal's superstructure.

Changi Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 have an annual capacity of 21 and 23 million passengers respectively.

As a regional air hub, Changi Airport faces competition from the new Bangkok International Airport, set to open in coming months, and Dubai's plans for an airport with a capacity of over 100 million passengers a year.

The new Changi terminal will have 28 aerobridge gates - eight of which are designed to handle a new generation of large, double-decker passenger jets like the Airbus A380, said Yeo, who this week steps down as Transport Minister, with plans for a career in the private sector.

Terminal 3 has a gross floor area of 380,000 square meters (4,090,320 sq. feet), slightly above Terminal 2's 360,000 square meters (3,875,040 sq. feet). Terminal 1's gross floor area is 280,000 square meters (3,013,920 sq. feet).

About 20,000 square meters (215,280 sq. feet) of floor space has been set aside for over 70 retail and 30 food and beverage outlets.

Benedict Oon, Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, said the project is now about 70 percent complete.

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