Changi Airport Terminal 5 breaks ground: PM Lawrence Wong hails bold move, says Singapore must stay connected to the world

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong breaks ground on Changi Airport T5 on 14 May 2025; all SIA, Scoot flights to move there when it opens

By Vanessa Paige Chelvan, The Straits Times, 15 May 2025

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has broken ground on Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5), an expansion project more than a decade in the making that will position the airport to ride an expected surge in air travel within the Asia-Pacific and beyond.

With the May 14 ground-breaking, work on the mega terminal has begun, following delays owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budget arm Scoot will consolidate their operations under one roof at T5 when the terminal opens in the mid-2030s, said operator Changi Airport Group (CAG).

The airlines now operate across Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and SIA Group said the consolidation at T5 will provide space for its future growth and improve “operational synergies”.

There will be room at T5 and other terminals for other carriers to expand their operations, CAG added.

When asked about the other airlines that could operate from T5, CAG said it was too early to tell, as flight operations are dynamic and can change over the next decade.

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.

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 enable Singapore to take advantage of this growth.

While prize-winning Changi Airport is a source of pride for many Singaporeans, PM Wong said Singapore can never be complacent about its achievements and “cannot presume that our success can continue just on its own”.

Amid sharpening competition from other airports and an uncertain global economy, the Prime Minister said Singapore must continue to work hard and remain connected to the world.

Hence, it is making a “bold move” with T5’s development to ensure Singapore’s air hub stays 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, said PM Wong.

Construction on T5 will intensify in the next few years and peak around 2029, said Mr Ong Chee Chiau, CAG’s managing director for Changi East.

Works completed so far include a new runway, the airport’s third; an underpass for vehicular traffic; and tunnels for baggage and automated people-mover systems similar to the Skytrain.

With three runways operational by the time T5 opens, a second control tower will be built to manage air traffic, Mr Ong said.

T5 is located within the 1,080ha Changi East development, which is almost as big as the land area of today’s Changi Airport, he added.

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.

State-of-the-art systems

T5 will have overlapping curved roofs with varying heights, in a nod to “Singapore’s unique blend of nature and city”, said CAG.

It will also have natural light and landscaping, giving the terminal “the familiar cosy yet uplifting feel that Changi is known for”.

Besides its facade and interior, the mega terminal will have state-of-the-art systems, and will leverage technology and automation to improve efficiency and passenger experience.

Plans include baggage robots that can operate in poor weather conditions, as well as video analytics and artificial intelligence tools that can track aircraft turnarounds to predict potential delays. A turnaround refers to the time between the arrival of an aircraft and its next departure.

These technologies are being tested now to prepare for their roll-out when T5 opens, said CAG.

To make it easier for passengers to move around, three automated people-mover systems as well as travelators will reduce walking distances.

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 third people-mover system will link T5 to T2, facilitating passenger transfers to other terminals.

“Most passengers arriving in Singapore will still be able to hop onto a taxi or the MRT within 30 minutes after leaving the aircraft,” said CAG chief executive Yam Kum Weng.

Meanwhile, transfer passengers at T5 can expect to connect to another flight in less than an hour. “Faster than Changi today,” Mr Yam added.

Passengers departing from T5 will undergo security checks near their boarding gates at the multiple security screening points for each cluster of gates.

This means more flexibility for the airport operator, as it can choose to open or close a particular cluster of gates according to demand, Mr Ong said.

T5 will be powered by more clean energy to reduce the airport’s carbon footprint. Its rooftop solar system – one of Singapore’s largest – will have the potential to generate enough energy to power up to 20,000 four-room Housing Board flats for a year.

It will also be ready to support viable alternative jet fuels, including sustainable aviation fuels.

From 2025, all new light vehicles, forklifts and tractors on the airside will be electric, and T5 will be able to support a fully electric airside fleet, CAG said. The airside is the part of the airport beyond passport control, where aircraft operate.

GE2025 results: PAP gets 65.57 per cent of votes in landslide win

Commanding swing from 61.24% share in last general election gives Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the clear mandate he sought

By Lim Yan Liang, The Straits Times, 4 May 2025

Singaporeans have returned the PAP to power with 65.57 per cent of the popular vote, a commanding swing from its 61.24 per cent share in the last general election.

Voters overwhelmingly endorsed the ruling party, which secured 87 of 97 seats in an election that took place against a backdrop of global uncertainty and trade wars.

They gave Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the clear mandate that he had sought, in his first electoral contest as head of government and leader of the PAP.

Constituencies tipped to be fierce battlegrounds – Punggol GRC, Tampines GRC and Jalan Kayu SMC – were in the PAP’s grip by 11pm, when all sample count results were in.

Contests in East Coast GRC and West Coast-Jurong West GRC that were expected to be close also ended in decisive wins for the PAP.

At a press conference at 3am, PM Wong said the clear and strong mandate that Singaporeans have given the PAP was deeply humbling, and called the results “a clear signal of trust, stability and confidence” by Singaporeans in their government.

The immediate next task is to form the Cabinet, and PM Wong said he was grateful that all his key MPs had been voted in, and he could put together the best team to serve Singapore. “I will announce the Cabinet line-up when ready.”

While voters largely heeded PM Wong’s call for a strong PAP team to steer Singapore through coming storms, they also helped the WP retain its 10 seats and strengthen its grip on Sengkang GRC and Hougang SMC.

However, the WP’s call for a more balanced Parliament – and that more opposition MPs would lead to better policies – did not seem to have resonated with voters, as the party failed to make inroads elsewhere.

In Tampines, the only four-cornered fight in this election, the PAP secured 52.02 per cent of the vote against a WP team that garnered 47.37 per cent.

In Punggol, which was a focal point of the hustings after Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong was deployed there, the PAP polled 55.17 per cent to clinch the new GRC against a WP team led by senior counsel Harpreet Singh.

The other opposition parties failed to win any constituencies or send any candidates to Parliament as Non-Constituency MPs.

The PSP failed to convert or retain its two NCMP seats.

Its West Coast-Jurong West team, led by party chairman Tan Cheng Bock and NCMPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa, polled 39.99 per cent. This was a near-10 percentage point drop in votes from 2020, when the PSP came close to winning then West Coast GRC.

Instead, the “best loser” of this election was the WP’s candidate in Jalan Kayu SMC Andre Low, who took 48.53 per cent of the votes against labour chief Ng Chee Meng. Mr Ng made a successful comeback after losing in Sengkang GRC in the 2020 election.

The second NCMP came from the WP’s Tampines team, which comprises WP vice-chair Faisal Manap, Institute of Mental Health senior principal clinical psychologist Ong Lue Ping, former diplomat Eileen Chong, start-up co-founder Michael Thng and industrial equipment supply firm co-founder Jimmy Tan.

PM Wong said an issue that came up in the election was the desire for more alternative voices in Parliament, and that he respected Singaporeans with these views.

While he understood the sentiments, he urged those who held them to consider the merits of having a strong team in the Government to work effectively for the country.

The WP fielded a strong and young slate that gave the PAP a tough fight in several constituencies, and now have 10 elected seats as well as two NCMP seats, if they choose to accept them, he added.

“That’s an increase from what they have today, so they will have an increased and continued strong presence in Parliament, as well as the opportunity to refresh some of the members in their slate,” he said.

The WP did not hold its customary post-election press conference right away, but party chief Pritam Singh told supporters at Serangoon stadium at about 1am that it was always going to be a difficult election.

“The slate is wiped clean. We start work again tomorrow, and we go again,” he said to cheers.

The PSP’s Mr Leong, who is the party’s chief, said the results were “shocking” and that the party needed to regroup to fight another day.

SDP chairman Paul Tambyah expressed disappointment at his party’s showing, and attributed voters’ flight to safety to “the constant drumbeat of crisis”.

He said the silver lining was Dr Chee Soon Juan’s showing. The SDP chief took 46.81 per cent of votes in Sembawang West against the PAP’s Poh Li San in his best electoral performance to date. This, however, was not enough for the SDP to secure a parliamentary presence.

At the PAP press conference, PM Wong said he heard feedback from Singaporeans on key issues like cost of living and housing, and gave his assurance that the Government will redouble its efforts in the coming term to tackle these concerns.

“We have already started work on many of these issues and progress has been made, but we will work even harder with this mandate now to ensure concrete progress, and to see how we can achieve even better outcomes across all of these issues and on the economic challenges that are coming,” he said.

He also highlighted the mixing of race and religion with politics as an issue that surfaced at the election.

This was not just a matter of foreign interference, as there were also many negative comments by Singaporeans encouraging people to vote along racial lines, he added.

PM Wong said: “I am heartened that all political parties made clear their stance in this campaign to reject identity politics and reaffirm their commitment to multiculturalism, and the election results show that Singaporeans, by and large, reject identity politics and continue to support a multiracial and multi-religious society.”

The PAP had asked Singaporeans to vote for the name on the ballot that could best represent them in Parliament, and that it was not time for political experimentation given external turbulence.

In the end, the people chose stability and continuity over the opposition’s call for greater checks and balances, and gave PM Wong and his 4G team an unequivocal mandate to tackle the coming storms.

At the close of polls at 8pm, there were 2,429,281 votes cast in Singapore, including 42,829 rejected votes. This made up 92.47 per cent of the 2,627,026 registered voters in all contested electoral divisions.

PM Wong said Singapore has always been and continues to be the underdog despite what it has achieved, and must now close ranks to face the challenges ahead together.

“Now that the election is over, we must put aside our differences and stand together as one Team Singapore to confront the storms ahead, and to secure a brighter future for ourselves, our families and Singapore.”

Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong said changes happening to the world are worrying, but that Singapore can come through with cooperation between the PAP and the people.

“With your trust and your full support and cooperation, we will do the best for our families, for our country and for our future,” SM Lee said.