Singapore halts Changi Airport T5 construction

The terminal was scheduled to be completed around 2030.

Singapore will suspend the construction of Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) project for at least two years due to the uncertainties in the aviation sector brought by the pandemic, according to Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan.

The terminal was scheduled to be completed around 2030. It covers a land area equivalent to about 667 football fields and was expected to handle up to 50 million passengers per year in its initial phase.

Khaw added that major changes are to be expected along with the current layout of T5.

“We are confident that air traffic will return; the uncertainty is how quickly it will be. Analysts’ projections range from 2 to 5 years. We are doing our own study, in consultation with experts and stakeholders,” said Khaw

Under normal circumstances, Khaw said that the government would have to start calling for major civil engineering tenders to meet its initial timeline for completing the terminal in the 2030s.

Changi has already shut down its newly built Terminal 4 as well as Terminal 2, which it had planned to close for renovations but closed it early due to the pandemic.

In April, Changi Airport had a 99.5% YoY drop in passenger movement with 25,200 compared to last year. The completion of T5 would bring Changi Airport's total passenger capacity to around 140 million passengers per year.