Asia/Pacific News
Singapore Underground Storage Opens
Singapore's S$950 million ($758 million) underground rock cavern storage facility for liquid hydrocarbons officially opened today, Channel News Asia reports.
The Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC), the first facility of its kind in Southeast Asia, has a total capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres and took six years of planning and eight years of construction.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the project was challenging and cost about 30 percent more than reclaiming land for storage facilities.
"This endeavour also involved immense challenges and significant risks," he said.
"But we pursued it because it was worthwhile."
Lee said the caverns freed up 60 hectares of space on land for higher-value facilities, enough for as many as six petrochemical plants, and also helped Singapore gain expertise and confidence that could make further subterranean development feasible.
Lee said the government is now looking at more potential underground projects, including a science facility and a warehousing and logistics base.
Singapore's economy is highly dependent on bunkers and other oil and chemical products.
Lee said earlier this year that Singapore is focused on developing the infrastructure and workforce to support a growing petrochemical industry serving Asian markets.
