Singapore's Changi Airport Group awards S$999mil contract for underground tunnels at Terminal 5
Changi Airport's fifth terminal will be as big as Terminals 1 to 4 combined. It is slated to open in the mid-2030s. - Photo: Changi Airport Group
SINGAPORE: A contract worth S$999 million for the construction of underground tunnels at Changi Airport's Terminal 5 (T5) has been awarded to a joint venture between a Japanese construction company and a Singapore-based construction and civil engineering firm.
Construction of the tunnel system, which will transport passengers and baggage across T5, is expected to take more than four years, Changi Airport Group (CAG) said on Tuesday (June 10), about a month after a ground-breaking ceremony for the terminal.
It will be built by Penta-Ocean Construction and Koh Brothers Building and Civil Engineering Contractor (KBCE).
The tunnel system will house key infrastructure, including automated people-mover systems similar to the Skytrain, as well as baggage-handling systems.
There will be two people-mover systems within T5 that can connect departing passengers to their gates and arriving passengers to two arrival immigration halls.
A common services tunnel will contain dry and wet utilities such as electrical power, communication systems and water services.
CAG said the works also include a ventilation building that will support this tunnel, and provisions for a future underground infrastructure tunnel.
Changi Airport's fifth terminal will be as big as Terminals 1 to 4 combined. It is slated to open in the mid-2030s.
Designed to handle about 50 million passengers a year, T5 will effectively double the size of Changi Airport and allow it to handle 140 million passengers yearly – boosting its current capacity of 90 million by more than 55 per cent.
'The award of the (contract) marks another important development in the construction of T5 and the wider Changi East project,' said Ong Chee Chiau, CAG's managing director for Changi East.
T5 is part of the larger 1,080ha Changi East development that includes Changi Airport's third runway, as well as cargo complexes and other supporting aviation and ground transport infrastructure.
Ong said CAG is pleased to partner Penta-Ocean Construction and KBCE, as both firms have strong records.
CAG said Penta-Ocean Construction has had a pivotal role in the development of Changi Airport. The firm carried out land reclamation works in the 1970s that enabled the airport's initial expansion. It also undertook extensive ground improvement and land preparation works between 2014 and 2020 for T5 and the extension of the third runway.
KBCE has also undertaken projects for CAG, including the construction of a retention pond at Changi Airport.
A retention pond is an artificial pond designed to hold and release stormwater in a controlled manner, typically to prevent flooding.
The company also carried out development works to enable operations across three runways at Changi Airport through a separate joint venture.
The airport's third runway is estimated to start operations in the last quarter of 2027, The Straits Times reported in April.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong broke ground on T5 on May 14, calling it a 'bold move' to keep the Singapore air hub competitive.
At present, Changi Airport is linked to more than 170 cities. With T5, the airport will be able to reach its target of more than 200 city links by the mid-2030s.
Passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific – already the world's largest air travel market, taking about a third of the global share – is projected to double in the 2040s. CAG said the extra capacity at T5 will position the airport to ride the expected surge in air travel within the Asia-Pacific and beyond.
Ong said in May that construction on T5 will intensify in the next few years and peak around 2029. With three runways operational by the time T5 opens, a second control tower will be built to manage air traffic, he said.
In a first for the airport, T5 will house a ground transport centre, bringing together the Thomson-East Coast and Cross Island MRT lines, buses, taxis and other transport services. - The Nation/ANN
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