On March 28, Singapore's Transport Minister Raymond Lim said that Changi Airport will meet a target of handling 50 million passengers a year in next five years.

This target is in line with the expected tourists boom in the state with upcoming mega-events and attractions like the two casino resorts, the F1 race and the Inaugural Youth Olympics, said the minister at an annual airport reception.

Changi Airport, one of the world's busiest airports, handled 36.7 million passengers last year, a 4.8 percent growth over 2006.

This growth continued this year, with Changi handling 6 million passengers in the first two months, up 6.9 percent from the same period last year, according to Lim.

The airport opened its Terminal 3 (T3) in January this year, with the country's efforts to strengthen its status as an regional aviation hub.

Facing growing competition from Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Dubai, the Singapore government announced earlier that it has started a master planning for Terminal 4 (T4) to ensure that the state has capacity to accommodate growth in the aviation market.