NDR 2013: Paya Lebar Air Base to move to Changi East, new plans for Changi Terminal 5

Among several changes announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his National Day Rally was a long-term infrastructure plan involving Changi Airport and a new Changi East air base. The new air base will incorporate a fourth runway.

Paya Lebar Air Base (PLAB) will be moved to Changi East eventually and this will free up a large area of about 800ha -- bigger than Bishan or Ang Mo Kio.

This will allow new homes, offices and factories to be built. Relocating PLAB, Lee pointed out, removes height restrictions on large areas around Paya Lebar, and will allow the development of "new, exciting" plans for eastern Singapore.

As for the existing Changi Airport, the open air carpark in front of Terminal 1 will be transformed into a multi-use facility that will include retail shops, restaurants and a beautiful indoor garden.
 
He termed the new development -- codenamed "Project Jewel" -- as the “Gardens at Changi Airport”, a phrase inspired by the major tourist attraction, “Gardens by the Bay”.
 
Plans for a a Changi Terminal 5 are also in the pipeline and it is expected to be ready by mid-2020s — T5 will double Changi Airport's current capacity and will go a long way in ensuring Singapore's competitiveness as an air hub.
 
Changes in the ports too

The government is also building a new port in Tuas and clear the “prime land” at Tanjong Pagar to make way for a “Southern Waterfront City”, which will take up 1,000 ha of land – "that is two and a half times bigger than Marina Bay".
 
PM Lee also said that the new port is being built because Tanjong Pagar, Keppel, Brani and Pasir Panjang ports are already “reaching their limits”. The container ports will be moved to Tuas when the new facility is ready — the ports' leases will expire from 2027.