Singapore Airport to add fourth terminal

AN extra state-of-the-art terminal is being added at Singapore's airport, which was voted the world's most popular in 2013.

An artist's impression of the new Singapore Airport te...

ONE of Australia's favourite international gateways is set to get even better, with the start of construction of Terminal 4 at Singapore's Changi Airport.

The new terminal is set to bring a whole string of improvements to the airport, which was voted the world's best this year.

These include self-service and automated options at check-in, bag drop, immigration clearance and departure-gate boarding.

When completed in 2017, Terminal 4 will have the ability to handle 16 million passenger movements a year, bringing Changi's total annual passenger capacity to 82 million.

The terminal is expected to serve both regional full-service and low-cost carriers, with 17 contact stands for narrow-body aircraft and four for wide-body aircraft.

Drawing inspiration from the shape of an orchid petal, its showpiece will be a 300m-long Central Galleria separating the public hall from the airside zone of the terminal.

Changi Airport Group chief executive Lee Seow Hiang said the terminal would provide both arriving and departing passengers with a more efficient and enjoyable experience.

"Despite its relatively small size, our vision is for T4 to be an iconic terminal, setting new benchmarks - for passenger experience, operational efficiency and manpower productivity for our airport partners," he said.

An artist's impression of the new Singapore Airport terminal.