Changi Airport needs to get its priorities right

In his commentary “Changi Airport must develop into a destination in itself” (Jan 6), Mr David Leo argues for the need to develop the airport as a “city” and retain its status as an aviation hub.

He proposes that it can be a place where people can visit for purposes other than transit. He rightly emphasises the need for it to remain competitive, with the rise of Dubai Airport as a preferred stop on the Kangaroo Route. But transforming Changi Airport into a standalone “city” should be the last of our priorities.

As a city state with many business and leisure options, Singapore is unique and different from competitors such as the United Arab Emirates.

Do travellers really prefer to stay around the airport when other city locations — Sentosa, Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore Expo, Fusionopolis, Raffles Convention Centre and Marina Bay Sands — are within a 30-minute taxi ride?

Anyway, they will have to clear immigration before they can access Project Jewel.

What should be enhanced instead is transport connectivity from the airport to downtown Singapore — for instance, a direct MRT route to the city, rather than the current inconvenient transfer at Tanah Merah station.

This leads to the next important issue: Transport planning. We must seriously consider the planning parameters in the east. Singapore’s priority has always been to ensure prudent, optimal utilisation of land and resources, which requires smarter planning of traffic infrastructure.

Airport users share the major roads leading to and from Changi Airport with residents in the east, who depend on those roads for their daily commute and may identify with the woes of traffic congestion there.

It is unwise to direct greater traffic, in the form of shoppers from the rest of Singapore, to Project Jewel in the coming years.

An airport’s real strength lies in connectivity and movement of goods and passengers. The greater freight volume we carry, the stronger our status as a transport and business hub.

We would also want more aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul activities in the east. Major airlines should come to regard Singapore as the most efficient servicing centre in Asia.

Finally, the nation should focus on tapping future travel trends in the region and exert leverage as these evolve. For instance, how can Singapore capture greater returns from the increase in low-cost, short-haul flights around Asia?

This is what would secure Singapore’s position in the context of Asia’s growing economic importance.