Singapore Airport CEO Denies Jewel Changi Ripped Off Qatar

(Bloomberg) -- The operator of Singapore’s airport rejected claims that a vast new entertainment complex with shops, an indoor waterfall and forest walk was ripped off from Qatar, the Straits Times reported.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker, speaking at the unveiling of expansion plans for Hamad International Airport in Doha last month, said its designs had been copied by another country, according to the Straits Times. Akbar intentionally declined to name the alleged perpetrator, but it was obvious he was referring to Changi’s Jewel complex, the newspaper said.

Jewel Changi Airport, which includes the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at 40 meters, opened in April.

Responding to the allegation, Changi Airport Group CEO Lee Seow Hiang told the Straits Times that the company respects intellectual property rights and expects its business partners to do the same. The designer of the Jewel, Safdie Architects, has never done any work in Qatar, Lee said, according to the report.

--With assistance from Sanjit Das.

To contact the reporter on this story: Angus Whitley in Sydney at awhitley1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Will Davies

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