Singapore's Changi Airport Group (CAG) has announced that operations at the low-cost terminal of Changi Airport will end on 25 September 2012, and the site will be cleared to make way for the construction of a larger terminal building.

The new building, to be known as Terminal 4, will have a capacity of 16 million passengers per year and will be designed to enable efficient passenger processing and quick turnaround of aircraft.

Terminal 4 will not have aerobridges. Unlike the present Budget Terminal, Terminal 4 will have a wide choice of retail and food and beverage offerings, as well as passenger amenities that will better serve the needs of travellers.

Singapore's Budget Terminal handled more than 4.6 million passenger movements in 2011, while Changi Airport catered to a total of 46.5 million.

Considering that the airport's existing capacity is 70 million passengers per year, there is still room to accommodate future growth.

According to CAG, it is "planning ahead to ensure there is capacity to handle further increase in traffic demand". Construction of Terminal 4 will begin in 2013 and the new terminal is expected to be ready by 2017.

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