Biography

Mr Fong Kok Wai is currently the Executive Vice President of Engineering and Development Group in Changi Airport Group Pte Ltd. He has over 20 years of experience in airport engineering, planning and development.

Mr Fong is in charge of the development of new terminals and the expansion of the existing terminals both in Singapore and overseas. He led overseas airport engineering consultancy projects and was involved in airport master-planning, technical and engineering reviews, development strategy for airports in China, Manila, India, Moscow, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Rome, Durgapul (India) and Dammam.

Mr Fong started his career in the civil aviation sector as a Maintenance/Project Manager with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in 1987. In this position, he was involved in the refurbishment of Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi Airport, covering areas such as drafting of specifications, appointment of consultants and managing of the works programme. He was subsequently involved in testing, commissioning and preparation works for the opening of the newly constructed Terminal 2. His area of work included various technical areas such as operations and maintenance of mechanical and electrical systems, for example the Baggage Handling System and Passenger Loading Bridges.

In 1993, Mr Fong was promoted to be the Director (Development and Engineering) of CAAS and was responsible for the overall planning, development and maintenance of Singapore Changi Airport. Key projects supervised and managed by him included the capacity expansion of Terminals 1 and Terminal 2, development of Asia’s first Low Cost Carrier Terminal which was opened in 2006, construction of the new Terminal 3 which opened in 2008 and construction of new air cargo facilities. He was also involved in due diligence and investment feasibility studies for airports in Mexico, Vietnam, Malta, Greece and India. These projects were carried out by CAAS’ subsidiary, Singapore Changi Airport Enterprise (SCAE)/ Changi Airport Planners and Managers (CHAMP).

Mr Fong was part of the Airport Council International New Larger Aircraft Task force to manage out the development guidelines for airports to facilitate the operation of Code F aircraft map i.e. A380. Changi Airport subsequently developed the design for passenger loading bridges to have 3 loading arms. These were installed in Changi’s 3 terminals to facilitate the operation of A380 by Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Emirates & Air France.

With the Corporatisation of CAAS in 1 Jul 2009, he joined the Changi Airport Group Pte Ltd, the operator of Changi Airport. He is the Executive Vice President, Engineering and Development Group and oversees two Divisions in this group. His responsibilities include engineering, masterplanning, projects development and contract management. Land use and master planning, capital projects funding and operation expenditure optimising (inclusive of the procurement of electrical energy over the regulatory cycle), procurement strategy maintenance productivity, leadership development and succession planning are key issues in these new functions. He has developed a 4-stage training/sharing program for various skill disciplines in the group. His group is also now managing the planning, design and construction of the new Seletar Aerospace Park, the upgrading of Terminal 1 and environmental initiatives.

He is currently working on the mega project to develop T5 and the third runway at Changi. Concurrently, he is advising CAG’s subsidiary, CAI on the development of Durgapul Airport in India and the redevelopment of Brunei International Airport.

Prior to joining CAAS, Mr Fong was with Esso Singapore for 3 years as an Inspection/ Project Engineer and was responsible for inspection, commissioning testing and construction of oil refining and processing facilities. He subsequently joined VMF Stork, a service provider to Shell, where he worked on construction and maintenance of oil and gas facilities for 7 years in Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.

Mr Fong graduated in 1972 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) (First Class Honours) from the University of Bath, UK. For his impeccable public service, he was conferred the National Day Public Administration Medal (Silver) and the National Day Long Service Medal. He had served as a reservist Artillery Captain in the Singapore Armed Forces.