Singapore’s Changi Airport opened its new ‘green’ Terminal 3 on 9th January, 2008 with the arrival of Singapore Airlines Flight 1 from San Francisco. T3 is definitely very different from the airport’s two other main terminals, for not only does it have energy-saving 919 skylights, a butterfly garden and over 200 species of foliage spread over enough floor space to cover 50 soccer fields, just like the rest of Singapore it is squeaky clean too. The first passengers arrived on a Singapore Airlines flight from San Francisco via Seoul to a colorful welcoming ceremony at the 1.75-billion-Singapore-dollar (1.22-billion-US-dollar), modern eco-friendly facility. With the unveiling of this new environmentally friendly 380,000-square-metre third terminal, there will be an almost 50 percent hike in the Changi’s annual capacity, almost to 70 million air-travelers. The ambience and design of T3 very effectively displays the Singapore government’s skill at blending its tropical surroundings with a comfortable urban environment. The women’s powder room in the departure area, which includes vanity tables in an area separate from the restroom, has already become very popular with the ladies. With this expansion, the Singapore government hopes to capture a bigger slice of the rising demand for air travel in the Asia-Pacific region, which is being fuelled by the robust economies of China and India. Great going, I hope more nations across the world take a cue from Singapore and make their expansion plans a little more ‘greener’. Via: Reuters
