Takenaka wins $985m bid to build T4

It beats four firms to win tender; construction to start in Q1 next year[SINGAPORE] Takenaka Corporation, which was behind the construction of Changi Airport's Terminal 1, beat four other companies to clinch a $985 million contract from Changi Airport Group (CAG) to build the upcoming Terminal 4.迷你倉The construction of the hybrid T4, which is due to come onstream in 2017, will begin in the first quarter of next year, airport operator CAG said yesterday.T4, which is being built on the site of the former Budget Terminal, will cater to both budget carriers and full service airlines with 17 contact stands for narrow-body planes and four stands suited to wide-body aircraft.The construction project will include the new passenger terminal building spanning a gross floor area of 195,000 square metres, a multi-storey carpark and open-air carpark for up to 1,500 cars and a bridge to enable buses to move from T4 to aircraft stands further out which are being constructed south of Terminal 3. In addition, Takenaka will also carry out road improvement works and build a 68-metre Ramp Control Tower to facilitate air traffic control.With a passenger handling capacity of 16 million per year, T4 will boost Changi's existing passenger handling capacity which now stands at 66 million passengers each year.Aside from T1, the Japan-based firm was also involved in upgrading works at T2 in 2006 and at T1 last year. Beyond Singapore, Takenaka has played a part in constructing various airports in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, including Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Narita International."There were very competitive bids from local and international companies with vast experience in the construction of major infrastructure projects," said CAG chief executive Lee Seow Hiang. "The past few months have seeself storage an intensive process for the CAG team, as it went through several rounds of evaluation. Takenaka Corporation delivered the best overall proposal, which included an innovative construction methodology."Four other firms took part in the tender, said CAG, without divulging names.Takenaka will work with the consortium that is drawing up design plans for the terminal, a team that includes SAA Architects, Benoy, AECOM Singapore and Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner (SEA)."Being fully aware that Changi Airport shall continue to stay ahead as the air hub of the region, we are committed to deliver T4 of excellent quality, on time and with optimum safety," said Shoichiro Shibuta, general manager of Takenaka Corp (Singapore).Faced with increasing competition from other airports in the region, Changi is beefing up capacity and working at improving the passenger travel experience to remain the air hub of choice.The new terminal will roll out more automated initiatives such as self-service check-in, bag drop, immigration clearance and boarding gate services, partly in a bid to better utilise manpower resources in a tight labour market.To cut boarding time, CAG has already started to introduce self boarding gates in T2, as part of a trial run, which will be extended to more gates and terminals from April next year.Meanwhile, planning for a fifth terminal has already begun, with an eye on having Terminal 5 operational by the mid-2020s. In addition, a $1.47 billion mixed-use development, dubbed Project Jewel, will offer airport operations, retail and leisure offerings as well as hotel space when it opens in 2018.And a third runway will be introduced by 2020 to help tackle runway congestion as passenger traffic continues to grow on an annual basis, underpinned by robust travel demand in Asia.迷利倉