Changi Airport soaring success
Singapore's Changi International Airport is often voted as one of the world's best by international travel magazines.
Cargo News Asia has ranked Changi as the best airport for air cargo in Asia for the past five years.
Since it opened in 1981 it has expanded from one terminal to two, with another two terminals planned.
At a cost of S$1 billion (about HK$5.45 billion) the two terminals have an annual handling capacity of 24 million passengers a year, with a peak-hour capacity of 10,000.
Changi is the largest international airport in the Asia-Pacific region. The International Civil Aviation Organisation ranks Changi among the busiest in the world.
In 1995, 23.19 million passengers passed through Changi and 1,105,772 tonnes of air freight was handled.
The airport is served by 68 scheduled airlines operating from 58 countries and flying to 132 cities.
In line with Singapore's push for continuous upgrading and expansion to cope with future demand, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has spent $200 million on a programme to improve terminals.
Land reclamation is being carried out at Changi to provide a third runway, which is expected to be required by the turn of the century.
The expertise of CAAS, which owns and operates Changi Airport, has caught the attention of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region and the company now provides a number of services to countries developing their own airports.
The list of services offered includes feasibility studies, planning, design, management consultancy, systems acquisition, operation plans, procedure and training.
