Appointment of Chairman of The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore

1.     Mr Edmund Cheng Wai Wing (郑维荣) will be appointed as Chairman of the CAAS with effect from 1 July 2018. Mr Cheng will take over Mr Lee Hsien Yang (李显扬), who will relinquish his post as Chairman of CAAS on 30 June 2018 after helming the post for nine years.

Incoming Chairman, Mr Cheng Wai Wing Edmund

2.     Mr Edmund Cheng is the Deputy Chairman of Wing Tai Holdings Limited and also Chairman of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd and the Singapore Art Museum. As part of succession planning for CAAS, Mr Edmund Cheng has also been serving as the Deputy Chairman of CAAS since 1 December 2016.

3.     Mr Cheng had previously served as Chairman of SATS Limited from 2003-2016, as well as Chairman of the Singapore Tourism Board from 1993 – 2001. He was also Chairman of the National Arts Council and served on the boards of the former Construction Industry Development Board, the Urban and Redevelopment Authority and Singapore Airlines. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2015 and the Public Service Star (Bar) in 2010. Mr Cheng’s strong private and public sector board experience will greatly benefit CAAS’ mission to grow a safe, vibrant air hub and civil aviation system.

Outgoing Chairman, Mr Lee Hsien Yang

4.     Mr Lee Hsien Yang has served as Chairman of CAAS since 2009. He also served nine months as Pro-Tem Chairman prior to the restructuring of CAAS and the corporatisation of Changi Airport on 1 July 2009. Following the corporatisation of Changi Airport, Mr Lee Hsien Yang was appointed the first Chairman of the Board of the reconstituted CAAS on 1 July 2009.

5.     Mr Lee has played an instrumental role in the development of Singapore as an aviation hub. Today, more than 7,200 flights per week connect Singapore to 400 cities worldwide. Passenger and airfreight traffic have grown by 65% and 15% respectively since 2008. Airfreight throughput crossed the 2-million tonne mark for the first time, reaching 2.13 million tonnes in 2017.

6.     Under his stewardship, CAAS embarked on several initiatives to enable a future-ready aviation hub. These include the modernization of the Aviation Safety regime, the masterplanning for Changi East, the establishment of Singapore as a Centre of Excellence in Air Traffic Management and the establishment of a new Unmanned Aerial System regulatory framework. CAAS has also established a strong and credible voice in regional and international aviation.

7.     The Ministry of Transport would like to put on record its appreciation to Mr Lee Hsien Yang for his many years of dedicated and distinguished service to the CAAS.