Terminal 4 to be a test bed for new concepts at T5

By Xue Jianyue, TODAY, 6 Nov 2013

Changi Airport’s Terminal 4 (T4) will be a test bed for new concepts and technologies for the coming Terminal 5 and the three existing terminals, said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew yesterday.

A significant concept will be self-service options, such as self-service check-in, automated immigration clearance and automated boarding at departure gates, he said at the groundbreaking ceremony for T4, which is expected to be ready in 2017.

“We should envisage a large number of passengers being able to easily and efficiently check in all the way to the plane, without having to queue for service or checks by personnel, but always having someone ready to assist if necessary,” added Mr Lui.

According to the Changi Airport Group, such initiatives at T4 are part of a global trend towards self-service options at airports; and are necessary in Singapore due to the tight labour market in the ground-handling and security sectors.

T4 will sit on land once occupied by the Budget Terminal and will comprise a two-storey, 25m-high building. Its gross floor area, at 195,000 sq m, is seven times larger than the previous terminal.

To be built at a cost of S$1.28 billion, T4 will serve both regional full-service and low-cost carriers. It will have 17 contact stands for narrow-body aircraft and four such stands for those with wide bodies. A 68m ramp control tower will oversee and manage aircraft movement in the aprons and taxiways around the terminal.

With the ability to handle 16 million passenger movements a year, T4’s completion in 2017 will increase Changi Airport’s total annual passenger capacity to 82 million.

Besides self-service options, other T4 features aimed at reducing manpower requirements include centralising the immigration and pre-boarding security screening areas at the terminal’s south end to create a single path for passengers towards boarding gates. This removes the need for additional equipment and personnel at multiple gate holding rooms for security screening.

T4 will have 15,000 sq m of shopping and dining space, several times more than the Budget Terminal, and will include local culture- and heritage-themed features, such as retail stores with facades of old Peranakan shophouses in its transit area.

Plans for Terminal 5, meanwhile, are under way and it is expected to double Changi Airport’s current capacity by the mid-2020s.

Current expansion plans for the airport, code-named Project Jewel, will also see the car park beside Terminal 1 converted into a new facility which will house more shops, restaurants and an indoor garden.

These plans, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August, are aimed at maintaining Singapore’s position as an international hub and creating more opportunities for Singaporeans.

Changi's T4 project to cost $985m
Terminal can handle 16 million travellers a year when it opens in 2017
By Karamjit Kaur, The Straits Times, 27 Dec 2013

CHANGI Airport's Terminal 4 will come with two new roads, two carparks, a bigger taxi holding area and a new control tower. The total cost: $985 million.

The job will be undertaken by Japanese firm Takenaka Corporation, which has worked on previous Changi projects as well as other airports in Asia and Africa.

When T4 opens in 2017, its gross floor area of 195,000 sq m will cater for up to 16 million passengers a year, Changi Airport Group said yesterday.

The two carparks - a multi-storey and an open-air space in front of the terminal - will provide 1,500 parking spaces.

The former Budget Terminal, which was pulled down to make way for T4, had 350 spaces.

Taxis will wait for arriving passengers at a multi-storey holding area big enough for 250 cabs.

To improve access to T4, a new slip road will be built to provide a direct link to the East Coast Parkway. It will be located after the existing slip road that leads to the Pan-Island Expressway.

A second road - a bridge across Airport Boulevard Road - will connect the new terminal to an aircraft parking area being built near T3. The road will not be for public use but for airport buses and other airside vehicles.

The new terminal will provide aircraft stands with aerobridges for 17 small planes and four wide-bodied aircraft.

If greater capacity is required, passengers will be ferried by bus along the new bridge to where more planes are parked.

When T4 opens, it will provide a different travel experience, offering greater automation and more do-it-yourself options for check-in and boarding, as well as other processes.

The construction of the new terminal is among several expansion and improvement works being undertaken by Changi as part of its efforts to raise its ability to compete effectively with other airports for airlines and travellers.

The other key project is Jewel, a $1.47 billion mixed-use building that will open in 2018. It has been designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who was behind the iconic Marina Bay Sands as well.

To be located in front of T1, Jewel will have five storeys, as well as five basement levels for retail and carpark space.

Nearly 70 per cent of the gross floor area will be for retail space, while the remainder will be set aside for airport operations, attractions and a hotel.

T4 will cater mainly for full-service regional carriers as well as budget airlines. It has not been decided who will move into the new facility.

Budget carrier AirAsia, which operates out of T1, has been talking with Changi Airport Group about plans for the new facility, said its Singapore chief Logan Velaitham. "Cost is critical for us. If T4 offers a more cost-effective option, we are happy to consider moving," he said.

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