2.5km underground link to be built between Changi Airport T2 and future T5

It will feature tunnels with systems to move people, akin to the Skytrain, and also baggage

- Kok Yufeng

A 2.5km-long underground link will be built to connect the future Changi Airport Terminal 5 (T5) with the existing Terminal 2 (T2).

It comprises tunnels for an automated people-mover system-similar to today's Skytrain - and a separate system to handle baggage.

Part of ongoing infrastructural works at the new 1,080ha Changi East development, the T2 Connection will link T5 with Changi's existing terminals when the mega terminal opens in the mid-2030s, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) told The Straits Times in response to queries.

New details about this inter-terminal underground link were first reported by Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao on April 14.

Earlier in February, construction work for the T2 Connection at Changi East appeared as a new line item in the Government's projected development expenditure for Budget 2024, with a total project cost exceeding $722 million.

Preparatory work for the new underground link is already under way.

According to stock exchange filings, the Singapore subsidiary of Chinese construction firm Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co was awarded a $622 million contract in October 2023 by airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) to design and build underground structures for the new T2 underground link.