$500m upgrade for Singapore Changi’s Terminal 1
27-year-old building gets makeover from May and works will be completed by 2011
By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
CHANGI Airport’s grand old dame is getting a $500 million extreme makeover in a bid to secure the airport’s status as one of the best in the region.
An upgrade of Terminal 1 (T1) will start in May and, when the work is done in 2011, travellers will bask in more open spaces and facilities, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced yesterday.
Changi, which is in a fierce battle for the title of the region’s top airport, needs to constantly upgrade to keep the airlines and travellers it has, as well as woo new ones, experts have said.
Like Terminal 2 (T2), which underwent a recently completed $240 million upgrade, the facelift for the 27-year-old T1 will be done in phases.
An airport spokesman said there will be minimal disruptions to operations and passengers will not be inconvenienced unnecessarily.
She said: ‘All noisy works will be done during off-peak hours and also in the night. The noise levels will be constantly measured during the day and, to minimise construction noise, the hoardings will be insulated.’
Northwest Airlines - one of close to 50 airlines that operate out of T1 - is confident it will be business as usual.
Its Singapore general manager, Mr Yeoh Hock Thye, said: ‘This is not the first time major upgrading works are being done. When T2 was upgraded, it did not affect airlines operating there so we are not unduly concerned.’
T1’s facelift will be done by Takenaka Corporation, a Japanese construction and architectural firm, the CAAS said.
Apart from upgrading the building’s facade and other areas like the arrival and departure halls, there will also be improvements made to passenger flow at key areas.
T1 opened in 1981 when Changi Airport started operations. In 1995, a $147 million renovation was completed. Five years after that, 14 new gates were added.
But this is the first time the terminal has been slated for a major overhaul.
Because T1 was built 27 years ago, works will also be done to ensure that the terminal complies with the latest building codes.
The extensive works needed and the higher cost of construction add up to a significantly higher upgrading bill - $500 million compared to the $240 million for T2.
After the upgrading, T1 - which currently spans just over 280,000 sq m - will continue to handle 21 million passengers a year.
The terminal now has about 50 shops and 30 food and beverage outlets.
With the opening of T3 on Jan 9, Changi now has a total of about 230 retail stores and over 110 eateries.
Last year, the airport - which can handle 64 million passengers annually - saw a record of 36.7 million fliers.
Source : Straits Times - 15 Feb 2008
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