Paya Lebar Air Base move will allow redevelopment of nearby towns

BESIDES freeing up land for 150,000 new homes in Paya Lebar, the relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base will mean the lifting of some building height restrictions around it, allowing for the redevelopment of towns such as Hougang, Marine Parade and Punggol, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the National Day Rally on Sunday (Aug 21).

He also gave updates on Tuas Port and Changi Airport’s Terminal 5 (T5), noting that the decisions to proceed with these major infrastructure projects “send a strong and clear signal to the world that Singapore is emerging stronger from the pandemic, and charging full steam ahead”.

With the relocation of Paya Lebar Air Base expected to start in the 2030s, the redevelopment of nearby towns will allow more amenities to be added and better use to be made of the space, he said. “It will not happen overnight. But over decades, we can completely reimagine the eastern part of Singapore.”

As for the redeveloped Paya Lebar town, the air base’s 3.8 km runway could be repurposed as a central spine: a green connector or community space with housing on either side. The 150,000 new homes that can be built are “roughly what we have in Punggol plus Sengkang today”, he added.

The prime minister also assuaged concerns that Singapore might “run out of space” or that housing will not be available or affordable. The government’s studies and planning show that there will be “enough space for future generations” – instead, he quipped, “our problem is having enough babies to grow up and live in (these flats)“.

As for Tuas Port, the first 2 berths started operations in December 2021. Because Singapore planned ahead, its port was able to handle extra volumes during the pandemic and stay open 24/7, noted PM Lee, even as ports in other countries experienced closures, severe congestion and long delays. Singapore handled a record-high 37.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in 2021.

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Phase 1 of Tuas Port has been completed, with 3 more phases to follow. Upon completion, it will be the world’s largest fully automated port, “and that should make us a leading global player in the maritime space”, said PM Lee.

He also gave an update on Changi Airport’s T5 “mega terminal”, which will be able to handle 50 million passengers each year, about the same as Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 put together. Next to T5, the Changi East Urban District will be developed as a business and lifestyle destination.

Before Covid-19, the government was about to call a tender to build T5. But plans were paused for 2 years in the pandemic, during which time the government reassessed the long-term prospects for air travel and improved T5’s design.

“We concluded that the future of aviation remains bright,” he said. With air travel recovering and expected to keep growing in the longer term due to the region’s fast-expanding middle class, the government decided to restart the T5 project.

T5 was redesigned for more resilience, particularly in a pandemic, with the ability to scale operations up and down more easily and isolate passengers from different flights to limit cross infection, said PM Lee.

According to a Ministry of Transport factsheet, T5 will be able to operate as smaller sub-terminals, with spaces that can be converted for purposes such as testing or segregation of passengers. It will have specialised provisions such as contactless systems at passenger touchpoints and enhanced ventilation systems that can be activated during a pandemic.

“Our seaport and airport play a critical role putting us on the global stage,” said PM Lee. “They connect us to the world, and keep Singapore a thriving business and trading hub. That is why we have always taken the long view, and continuously improve our sea and air ports.”