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The Star
5 days ago
- Business
- The Star
New ‘drive-through' cargo centre at Changi Airport cuts processing time; will be test bed for T5 ops
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 Tuesday (Aug 5). The 3,000sq m Bulk Unitisation Programme (BUP) Handling Centre is able to process outgoing air cargo shipments in two hours, instead of 2½ hours. BUP is a packing strategy that consolidates loose cargoes into standardised, ready-to-ship individual units such as pallets or containers to speed up handling processes. It is typically used for consumer and electronic goods such as clothes and household products. Before the launch of the centre, freight forwarders needed to transport loose cargoes to 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 facility 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 industrial zone is an airport logistics park that will optimise the flow of air cargoes and reduce the costs and transit time for processing goods to and from T5. As Sats has to work with the space available in the facilities here before the opening of the zone in the mid-2030s, it is important to maximise the use of the space it has by moving ready-to-ship units into a dedicated facility, said Kuah Boon Kiam, senior vice-president for cargo services at Sats. 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 shape of the cargoes to ensure they 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 five to eight minutes. The cargo handling processes at the previous air freight terminals were manual, as workers needed to use forklifts to place the cargoes onto weighing machines before transferring them 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 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 after getting them processed. Cargoes are weighed while they are still on the dollies. The cargoes will then be towed to the airside. The centre will be manned by a team of 20, and the workers will need to perform new tasks such as verifying documents and checking cargoes to ensure they are ready for loading, instead of executing tasks such as moving cargoes. Sats declined to reveal the construction cost of the new centre. 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 the clearance lanes for cargo trucks at the Tuas and Woodlands land checkpoints, Sats noted. 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 the other for all other airlines it serves. They have been repurposed since April 7. Hence, 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 cargoes at one of Sats' previous air freight terminals, in which loose cargoes had to be manually loaded onto a weighing scale and then moved into the warehouse for packing. With the new centre, Sats hopes to increase the amount of freight it handles in BUP 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. 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. The new BUP Handling Centre allows freight forwarders to drive through the centre to weigh their ready-to-ship units, check the contours of the cargoes to ensure they fit into the aircraft and verify the documents. Adding that the utilisation rate is now at 50 per cent, 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 the mid-2030s – 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 them before we move to the new facility in the mid-2030s,' he added. Speaking to the media at the opening ceremony on Aug 5, Kerry Mok, president and chief executive 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 increased cargo volumes using the same infrastructure, 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.' He added: 'And to do it now, it means we can then design something better for T5.' On the impact of the new facility on Singapore's position as a transit hub, Kuah said any kind of time savings that Sats can give to the air cargo logistics industry will give the republic a competitive edge. Global air cargo demand will grow by 4 per cent to 6 per cent year on year in 2025, according to freight data analysts. Likewise, South-East Asia's e-commerce market is expected to grow at an average rate of 22 per cent annually from 2025 to 2026. - The Straits Times/ANN
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
New cargo handling centre at Changi Airport reduces processing time; test bed for future T5 ops
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.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
BMC lodges police complaint over forced inauguration of waste treatment plant
Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation on Monday lodged a police complaint against members of Bhubaneswar Unnayan Parishad (BUP) for allegedly forcefully entering a newly-constructed waste processing unit at Palasuni and inaugurating it in the presence of a 500-strong mob. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The outfit, which has been fighting against waste dumping by BMC near Sainik School, maintained that it inaugurated the plant as its operation will help clear waste from the dump yard. BMC called it intrusion and criminal action as it has already planned the inauguration. "A large group of unknown individuals led by Basudev Bhatta, president of BUP, and its members unlawfully and forcefully entered the premises of the facility and engaged in violent protest. The miscreants violated various provisions of BNS. BMC staff present at the units were also threatened," said the BMC complaint at Mancheswar police station. BMC's facility at Palasuni includes a 150-tonne per day (TPD) capacity mega material recovery facility (MRF), a processing unit for 10,000 coconuts per day, and 20 TPD green waste processing units. The construction work was complete, and BMC was slated to inaugurate it. "When the BUP members led by Bhatta met us, we assured them of running the Palasuni facility soon. But, they took law into their hands," said BMC additional commissioner Suvendu Sahu. The outfit strongly demanded immediate removal of the garbage dump, emphasising the severe inconvenience and long-standing suffering of the local residents due to the stench. "On Sunday, we gave in writing to Mancheswar police that we would go to the facility with 500 people as a symbol of inauguration to draw the attention of the govt. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now BMC has been unduly dilly-dallying on the operationalisation of the facility. Residents have been bearing the stench for the past eight months," Bhatta told TOI. He refuted the BMC allegation that the BUP members unlawfully barged into the premises and threatened staff. According to the outfit, the garbage dump near Sainik School, where 350 metric tonnes of waste is processed daily, has made living conditions unbearable for the residents. Notably, ever since the civic body stopped waste dumping at Daruthenga, a village on the city outskirts in May, it has been dumping at least 50 per cent of the total 800 metric tonnes of waste generated daily near Sainik School dump yard.
