Changi Airport calls for T5 development tender

SINGAPORE — Changi Airport Group (CAG) has shortlisted three teams to design Terminal 5 (T5), including firms that are involved in the expansion of Heathrow Airport and a new terminal at Abu Dhabi Airport.

Announcing the tender for the provision of Master Architect consultancy services for the development of T5, CAG said on Wednesday (March 8) that the firms were selected based on their vision and design themes for the terminal, track record on previous airport terminal projects, team composition and experience of key personnel, as well as proposed approach for the delivery of the project.

The shortlisted teams are: Grimshaw Architects, in partnership with DP Architects; KPF Associates, in partnership with Heatherwick Studio, James Corner Field Operations, Architects 61 and Lead 8; and Safdie Architects, in partnership with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Surbana Jurong and RSP Archi-tects.

Last year, Grimshaw was selected to develop the expansion plan for Heathrow Airport while KPF Associates designed the Midfield Terminal Complex at Abu Dhabi Airport. Safdie Architects designed, among other projects, Changi Airport’s Jewel complex which is under construction and Marina Bay Sands.

Separately, a tender for the provision of Master Civil consultancy services will be launched by the middle of this year. The tender is for the design of infrastructure outside of the T5 buildings, including taxiways, aircraft parking stands, roadways and drainage systems, as well as the connections for utilities such as power, water, gas and telecommunications to the T5 buildings.

The shortlisted firms/teams are: AECOM Singapore; Jacobs International Consultants, in partnership with SAA Architects; a consortium led by Surbana Jurong, in partnership with Changi Airport Planners and Engineers, Mott MacDonald Singapore and Arup Singapore; and a consortium led by T Y Lin International (Singapore), in partnership with US-based T Y Lin International, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants and Architects Vista.

The Master Architect and Master Civil consortia will be selected by early next year.

CAG Chair Mr Liew Mun Leong, who also chairs Surbana Jurong, which is in the shortlist for both tenders, will not be involved in the tender process.

In response to TODAY’s queries, a CAG spokesperson said Mr Liew “has recused himself from CAG’s Executive Committee for Airport Development, which consists of several external development experts, and the CAG Board of Directors for the evaluation of the tenders and the approval of the tender awards”.

T5 is part of the Changi East project to ensure that Changi Airport continues to have the capacity to meet growing passenger and airfreight traffic. The project includes the implementation of a three-runway system at Changi Airport, as well as the development of cargo complexes and other supporting aviation and ground transport infrastructure. The project is scheduled for completion in the late 2020s.