Of course, this insecurity is also a spur to effort and creativity. Without a big hinterland, Singapore's Changi Airport has to compete for its share of international air traffic. Many airlines use Changi Airport by choice, not by necessity. Singapore Airlines has to work harder than most other airlines because it has no protected domestic routes. Much more than Hong Kong, the Port of Singapore is heavily dependent on trans-shipment.
Information technology helps our port to stay ahead.
The Port of Singapore has been paperless since the late 1980's. Port clearance, custom declarations and other administrative procedures are all on-line. Container cargoes are shipped from Calcutta and Madras to Singapore in order to be trans-shipped to Europe. Despite the additional sea voyage of hundreds of miles, the costs are lower because big container ships, which are very expensive, waste little time in Singapore. Using artificial intelligence computer programs, the loading sequence of containers onto a ship can be changed up to one hour before the ship arrives.