How Changi Airport got to where it is today

IN March this year, Changi Airport clocked a record of handling one billion passenger movements since it started operations in 1981; we expect to handle 60 million passengers this year.

This, by any standard, is a sterling record because the numbers comprise only international passenger movements, as we don't have domestic flights. Changi Airport is today a world strategic air hub connecting Singapore to more than 331 cities in 80 countries. It is a vital infrastructure for Singapore's economic well being.

How did Singapore, a small island state with five million people, develop an airport to handle 60 million passengers per annum (mppa), which is the world's sixth largest international airport and has been awarded the Best Airport title more than 540 times?