Singapore’s transformation from a backwater trading post to one of the world’s most advanced ports was paved by the development of modern infrastructure and a rapid adoption of technology.
The city-state is well-connected to the world via a top-class airport, port and telecommunications infrastructure.
Changi International Airport
Changi International Airport is Singapore’s national airport and air cargo terminal.
It makes an impressive gateway to Singapore, wowing visitors with its modern architecture, extensive shopping and efficient processes.
Its success has put Singapore on the map as a regional aviation and air cargo hub. It caters to 100 airlines serving more than 200 cities in over 60 countries. It has three terminals – the third opened in 2008 – which can handle 70 million passengers a year.
Since it opened in 1981, it has won more than 250 awards, and is consistently voted one of the best airports in the world by business and leisure travellers as well as various media.
The Changi Airfreight Centre (CAC), located at the northern end of the airport, is a 24-hour one-stop service centre to airlines, cargo agents, shippers and consignees. The CAC is operated as a Free Trade Zone (FTZ), where cargo is easily moved, consolidated, stored or repacked without the need for documentation or customs duties.
It handled 1.83 million tonnes of cargo in 2011.
PSA Singapore Terminals
PSA Singapore Terminals is Singapore’s port and the world's busiest transhipment hub.
It is also a regional centre for shipping activity, thanks to Singapore's strategic location at the crossroads of the main shipping routes of the world.
PSA Singapore Terminals operates 4 container terminals and 2 multi-purpose terminals in Singapore, connecting all kinds of vessels – including container ships, bulk carriers, and cargo freighters - to a network of 200 shipping lines with connections to 600 ports in 123 countries.
It handles about one-fifth of the world's total container transhipment throughput. In 2009, it handled 25 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of containers, up from 10 million TEUs in 1994 and 20 million TEUs in 2005.
It provides a comprehensive range of ocean and harbour marine services, terminal-related logistics services and port IT services. It also runs the Singapore Cruise Centre, the cruise hub of the Asia Pacific for passenger liners as well as regional and domestic ferries.
PSA Singapore Terminals consistently wins awards for best container terminal.
Telecommunications
Singapore offers a world-class telecommunications infrastructure, and its endeavour to wire up every citizen to the information highway is taking shape.
Singapore is not only the most wired country in the world, with a household wired broadband penetration rate of 106.4% (Infocomm Development Authority, Aug 2012) it is also the world leader in terms of ICT utilisation. (Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, 2009)
According to a survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Singapore ties with the US as the cheapest place in the world to make a phone call or surf the internet using a broadband connection.
The total number of mobile subscriptions hit 7,889,700 in August 2012, bringing mobile penetration rates to 148.7%. This means there are more mobile phone lines than the number of people on the island.
These developments were sparked off by the Singapore ONE initiative launched in 1998, to enable every citizen to connect from their homes, offices, schools and public places through a high-speed multimedia broadband network infrastructure.
Such widespread Internet access has created an e-lifestyle among Singaporeans, allowing everyone to chat, take lessons, make business and banking transactions, apply for government services, or simply watch a movie on demand – all online.
In its pursuit to make Singapore an intelligent island, the Singapore government itself has come up tops for its e-government initiatives.
In a 2009 study by Japan’s Waseda University Institute of e-Government, Singapore ranks ahead of 33 countries, including the United States and Sweden, in a list comparing the strengths of their e-government initiatives. Into its fifth year, the study put Singapore in first place for its use of infocomm technology to optimise the productivity of its ministries and departments. It was also singled out for “big progress” on its government online portals.
All in all, Singapore’s extensive connectivity, coupled with a pro-business environment and legal and regulatory framework, make the island an ideal e-commerce hub.
Source: Changi International Airport, PSA Singapore, Infocomm Development Authority
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