Singapore announces opening date for long-awaited Jewel Changi Airport

The wait is finally over for travelers who frequently fly into Singapore’s Changi Airport.

More than five years since revealing plans for the airport’s stunning new addition, officials have announced that the “Jewel Changi Airport” complex will open to the public on April 17.

With its “delicate” latticework of glass panels framed in steel, the distinctive doughnut-shaped Jewel is first and foremost a central hub, connecting three of Changi Airport’s current four terminals.

But it’s also potentially a destination in its own right, featuring a large mall to entice locals and visitors alike.

Conceived by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie as a new “magical garden,” Jewel Changi Airport is over 1.4 million square feet (130,000 square meters) and cost a reported SGD$1.7 billion (about US$1.25 billion) to build.

It will have a total of 10 stories – five above ground and five below – filled with various attractions, gardens, 280 retail and F&B outlets and a 130-cabin YOTELAIR Singapore Changi Airport hotel. Passengers will also be able to access early check-in facilities.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the project is the Rain Vortex. At over 130 feet high, it’s the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

Opening date set: Singapore airport officials have announced that the new "Jewel Changi Airport" complex will open to travelers on April 17. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the project is the Rain Vortex, pictured. At over 130 feet high, it's the world's tallest indoor waterfall.

A central hub: Conceived by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie as a new "magical garden," Jewel Changi Airport is first and foremost a central hub, connecting three of Changi Airport's current four terminals. Click on for a selection of previously released Jewel design renderings.

Exterior view: Jewel will have a total of 10 stories -- five above ground and five below -- filled with various attractions, gardens, 280 retail and F&B outlets and a 130-cabin YOTELAIR Singapore Changi Airport hotel.

Steel-and-glass doughnut: The steel-and-glass donut complex it set to become a destination in itself.

Forest Valley: Jewel's two centerpieces are Forest Valley, through which passengers will be able to hike, and Rain Vortex, a gigantic cascade of water from the roof.

Rain Vortex: The Rain Vortex will be transformed by a light and sound show at night.

Canopy Park: The 14,000-square-meter Canopy Park will include gardens, walking trails, playgrounds and restaurants.

Canopy Bridge: Suspended 23 meters above ground, the 50-meter, glass-bottomed Canopy Bridge will be the best viewing point for the Rain Vortex show and the Forest Valley. It's due to open in mid-2019.

Sky Nets: There will be two different kinds of suspended walking nets -- a 250-meter bouncing net and a 50-meter walking net. These too won't open till later in 2019.

Discovery Slides: Also coming later this year, the planned large-scale art piece features four integrated slides and a 6.5-meter-high viewing platform, from which travelers can see the Forest Valley.

Mazes: There will be two mazes, both designed by famous maze designer Adrian Fisher -- including the largest hedge maze in Singapore.

A shopaholic's dream: More than 200 retailers from local and international brands will set up shop in the Jewel.

Al fresco indoor dining: Changi's new leisure complex will have a wide selection of food and drink outlets, some with patios offering views of the waterfall.

Gateway gardens: Four different gateway gardens will feature unique landscape elements. The north, east and west gateway gardens will lead to terminals 1, 2 and 3, respectively.

'Multi-modal transport lounge': Jewel's "multi-modal transport lounge" will offer ticketing and boarding pass and baggage transfer services, as well as early check-in facilities.

The most awesome airport on Earth is about to get more awesome

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But those looking forward to checking out the promised Canopy Mazes, Sky Nets, Discovery Slides and 50-meter Canopy Bridge will have to wait a little bit longer.

Officials say those attractions won’t open until mid-2019.

In the meantime, other highlights include Jewel’s Forest Valley, a huge four-story garden filled with walking trails set amid more than 235,000 square feet of space dedicated to landscaping, making it one of the largest indoor collections of plants in Singapore.

The design concept is an extension of Singapore’s reputation as a “City in a Garden.”

“I wanted to explore a new kind of urban space, a space you go to as a matter of course, because you need to shop, because you’re flying out somewhere, and yet it’s a garden – somewhere that says ‘let’s rethink what the public realm is, let’s rethink what it is to shop,’” architect Safdie told CNN Travel last year.

“I think one of the reasons [we won] the bid was that the other submissions looked like malls and felt like malls, while this one, you don’t think of it as a mall, because it’s a new kind of experience. It makes us rethink what urban centers could be like if we stretch our thinking.”

The Jewel will boost the already impressive offerings of an airport that’s been voted best in the world by Skytrax for six years in a row.

Changi Airport is the world’s seventh busiest airport for international traffic. A record 65.6 million passengers passed through its four terminals in 2018, according to airport figures.

For more on the new Jewel Changi Airport, read our interview with Safdie here.

Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop contributed to this report.