New cargo handling centre at Changi Airport reduces processing time; test bed for future T5 ops

Straits Times

4 days ago

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
The new 3,000 sq m Bulk Unitisation Programme Handling Centre is able to process incoming air cargo shipments within two hours, instead of 2½ hours.
SINGAPORE – A new air cargo handling centre in Singapore, said to be the first of its kind in the world, features a drive-through concept capable of reducing processing time for air cargo shipments by 20 per cent. It officially opened on Aug 5.
The new 3,000 sq m Bulk Unitisation Programme (BUP) Handling Centre is able to process incoming air cargo shipments in two hours, instead of 2½ hours.
Bulk unitisation programme is a packing strategy that consolidates loose cargo into standardised ready-to-ship individual units such as pallets or containers to speed up handling processes. It is typically used for electronic and consumer goods such as clothes and household products.
Before the launch of this centre, freight forwarders needed to transport loose cargo into a warehouse for packing into pallets or containers for loading onto an aircraft, in addition to some ready-to-ship individual units.
Built by ground-handling services provider Sats, the centre in Changi Airfreight Centre, next to Changi Airport Terminal 1, will also test-bed enhanced air cargo processes and systems for the upcoming Terminal 5 (T5) and the Changi East Industrial Zone.
The Changi East Industrial Zone is an
airport logistics park that will optimise the flow of air cargo and reduce the costs and transit time for processing goods to and from the upcoming T5.
As Sats has to work with the space available in the facilities here before the opening of the zone in 2036, it is important to maximise the use of the space the firm has by moving ready-to-ship units into a dedicated facility, said Mr Kuah Boon Kiam, senior vice-president for cargo services at Sats Airport Services.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore 'She had a whole life ahead of her': Boyfriend mourns Yishun fatal crash victim
Singapore 60 lactation pods to be set up in public spaces by Q1 2026 for breastfeeding mothers
Singapore Beauty industry consumers hit by 464% rise in prepayment losses in first half of 2025
Singapore 13 taken to hospital after accident involving SBS buses, car in Tampines
Life Urinary issues: Enlarged prostate affects half of men in their 50s and up
Singapore Elderly man charged after he allegedly molested, performed sex act on 'vulnerable' man
The faster processing time at the new centre comes from the acceleration of the acceptance process, in which freight forwarders hand the goods over to handlers to check the weight and contours of the cargo to ensure it can fit into the aircraft, as well as to verify documents.
With the drive-through concept, this has been halved from 10 to 15 minutes to around five to eight minutes.
The cargo handling processes at the previous air freight terminals were menial as workers needed to use forklifts to place cargo onto weighing machines before transferring it into the warehouse for packing and acceptance.
Each terminal had only one weighing machine, which often led to congestion at the roads near the terminals.
The new centre comes with six cargo lanes and six weighing stations, so freight forwarders can directly drive through the centre to weigh their cargo and get them checked.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
The new centre is equipped with six cargo lanes and six weighing stations, where freight forwarders can just drive their tractors and cargo dollies in to deposit their cargoes at the centre after processing it. Cargoes are weighed while they are still on the dollies.
The cargoes will then be towed to the airside.
It will be manned by a team of 20, and the workers will need to perform new tasks such as verifying documents and checking cargo to ensure it is ready for loading, instead of executing tasks such as moving cargo.
Sats declined to share the construction costs of the new centre.
Likening the layout of the new centre to a 'drive-through', Mr Kuah said freight forwarders can now go through a much more straightforward and simple acceptance process in a 'more spacious' set-up.
It is similar to that of the clearance lanes for cargo trucks at the Tuas and Woodlands land checkpoints, noted Sats.
Mr Kuah gave these details during a media tour on the night of July 28, noting that the centre will streamline cargo flow and boost handling efficiency.
Sats had previously operated two air freight terminals – one for Singapore Airlines and another for all other airlines it serves. They have been repurposed since April 7.
As such, Mr Kuah described the new sheltered facility as a 'one-stop shop' for cargo handling for all airlines. It started operations in early April.
The handling of cargo at one of Sats' previous air freight terminals, in which loose cargo had to be manually loaded onto a weighing scale and then into the warehouse for packing.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
With this new centre, Sats hopes to increase the amount of freight it handles in bulk unitisation programme units from the current 30 to 35 per cent of its total volume to at least 50 per cent over the next one to 1½ years.
Mr Kuah noted that the new facility is able to handle 600 units daily, double Sats' previous volume of 300 units in total for both terminals.
Sats' new air cargo facility, the BUP Handling Centre, allows freight forwarders to just drive through the centre to weigh their ready-to-ship units, check the contours of the cargo to ensure they fit into the aircraft and verify the documentation.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
Adding that the utilisation rate is now at 50 per cent, Mr Kuah said Sats had designed it this way with a lot of room to grow.
'This will be a test bed for what we intend to do for the new Changi East Industrial Zone, because that will be (launched) in 2036 – so a lot of the things that we're doing right now will basically lead up to that.'
'So we will obviously look at how we are doing it now – if it works very well, then we will replicate it for the new facility. If there are certain improvements that need to be done, then we'll have time to do it before we move to the new facility in 2036,' he added.
Speaking to the media at the opening ceremony on Aug 5, Mr Kerry Mok, president and chief executive officer of Sats, said there is a need for Singapore's air cargo sector to be resilient amid the ongoing tariffs.
He said Sats thus needs to improve its existing facilities and drive new cargo handling processes to support the rise in volume, because there will be no new infrastructure for the next 10 years until the Changi East Industrial Zone is ready.
Noting that the BUP centre will allow Sats to handle more cargo volumes using the same infrastructure, Mr Mok said: 'when T5 comes, these are some of the new ideas that can be launched in the design of T5 – so we can't wait, we've got to do it now.'
'And to do it now, it means we can then design something better for T5,' he added.
On the impact of the new facility on Singapore's position as a transit hub, Mr Kuah said any kind of time savings that Sats can give to the air cargo logistics industry will give Singapore a competitive edge.