Singapore's Changi Airport opens new complex to lure travelers
Xinhua
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Jewel Changi Airport (Jewel), the airport's new complex, opened to the pre-registered customers Thursday.

Covering a floor space of 135,700 square meters at the gateway to the airport, the complex was jointly developed by Changi Airport Group and CapitaLand Group from a previous carpark area.

Hung Jean, chief executive officer of Jewel Changi Airport Development Pte. Ltd, said it cost 1.7 billion Singapore dollars (1.26 billion U.S. dollars) to build Jewel in four years, and they expected it would attract 50 million visitors annually.

Jewel is home to around 280 stores, restaurants, a supermarket, a cinema, a hotel and other recreational facilities. There are also early check-in counters and kiosks, and a VIP lounge for travelers.

Jewel was designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie and features a distinctive dome-shaped facade. It offers both local residents and international visitors a multi-faceted experience that includes attractions, unique shopping and dining concepts, as well as airport and accommodation facilities.

Jewel also provides beautiful scenery for visitors. The 40-meter-high HSBC Rain Vortex is the world's tallest indoor waterfall. It is surrounded by manicured grounds of the Shiseido Forest Valley. Play attractions such as the Manulife Sky Nets, Hedge Maze, Mirror Maze and Discovery Slides were designed to blend into the unique indoor garden environment and will open to the public in June this year.

In another development, Changi Airport's Terminal 1 has also been expanded to increase capacity by another 3 million passenger movements per year. This brought the airport's total capacity to 85 million, ensuring that it remains well placed to support the growth of air travel in the region.

Jewel is currently open to the pre-registered pubic starting from Thursday and will be officially opened on April 17.

The Changi Airport was bestowed Skytrax World's Best Airport in March 2019 for the seventh consecutive year.