Singapore's Changi airport is the "best $1.5 billion investment ever made". Why did Lee Kuan Yew think so?

In his memoir, 'The Singapore Story' — the first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, revisits profound memories of building his country's infrastructure. He served in the position from 1959 to 1990 and is widely regarded as the founding father of modern Singapore.

Singapore's Changi airport is the world's most awarded airport. It started operations on June 30, 1981. SQ101 became its first flight, carrying 140 passengers from Kuala Lumpur and arriving at Terminal 1. Within 2 weeks, 1 in 10 Singaporeans visited the airport — around 250,000 visitors, claims Changi Airport Group.

Lee Kuan Yew, in his memoir, describes Changi airport as the best $1.5 billion investment ever made. He writes that Singapore’s greenery was intended to impress potential investors. He describes ensuring that visiting CEOs encountered attractive, well-maintained roads before making investment decisions. The airport-to-office journey was carefully considered before the decision was made. Roads connecting the airport, visitors’ hotels and Lee's office were lined with trees and shrubs.

The Istana grounds offered a green oasis in the city centre. The excerpt from his memoir describes 90 acres of rolling lawns and woodland. A nine-hole golf course sat within that landscape, nestled between the Istana’s lawns and wooded areas. Lee highlights that landscaping was meant to communicate competence without a sales pitch. The author believed these surroundings would signal that Singaporeans were disciplined, reliable and capable of learning the skills investors needed.

Changi is described as occupying the island’s easternmost corner, giving arriving visitors an approach to the city along the east coast. The city approach included a 20-kilometre expressway built on land reclaimed from the sea — approximately 12 miles of infrastructure on newly created land. The route showcased both coastline and urban development. Visitors could see the sea on one side and public housing estates and private condominiums on the other.

The airport-to-city drive took about 20 minutes in the account. The author describes the expressway as free of congestion at that time; this is not a statement about present-day traffic.

Changi became the first to introduce the concept of airport gardens. Passengers were allowed to make free local telephone calls in transit. Taxi queues were located indoors to provide a completely air-conditioned experience as passengers got out of their taxis. Changi received the ‘Best Airport’ award by Business Traveller UK in the year 1988, writes Changi Airport Group on its website.

Lee called this $1.5 billion investment the best he had made, crediting the airport and arrival experience with helping Singapore become the region’s aviation hub.