Construction begins on Singapore airport’s ‘Jewel’

Construction has begun on the Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel), a mixed-use complex at Singapore’s international airport.

Located in front of Terminal 1, Jewel is designed to increase Singapore’s appeal as a stopover point for travellers. It sits on a 3.5 ha site with a gross floor area of some 134,000 m2 across five above-ground and five basement levels. It will increase Terminal 1’s capacity to 24 million passengers per year, while providing pedestrian connections to Terminals 2 and 3. It is also linked to the airport’s mass rapid transit (MRT) system

Attractions within Jewel include a 40 m high ‘Rain Vortex’, which is expected to be the world’s tallest indoor waterfall once complete. Another will be the Forest Valley, a five-storey garden filled with thousands of trees, plants, ferns and shrubs. Jewel will also include shops and hotels alongside airport operations.

Mott MacDonald is the building services consultant for the development. CheeChuan Tan, project director, at the company said, “Jewel will be an iconic development at Changi Airport. The combination of facilities, all available under one roof, will be a first in Singapore and we are proud to be a part of this exciting and challenging project.”

“The project includes various sustainable features such as optimised chilled and condenser water pipe routing to minimise the power required for pump usage, as well as rainwater harvesting for use in plant irrigation. Condensate water from air handling units will also be recycled, while hot water will be generated through the use of heat pumps.”

The project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018.