Singapore officially owns Southeast Asia’s first commercial underground liquid hydrocarbon storage facility with the recent opening of the Jurong Rock Caverns.
According to various media reports, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself opened the facility earlier today, located 150 metres deep beneath Jurong Island. The five caverns – with a combined capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres or 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools – cost $950 million to develop and will be used to store liquid hydrocarbons and chemicals such as crude oil and condensate.
Work on the caverns started back in 2007 by the Jurong Town Council to save space in land-precious Jurong Island, and the underground location ensures security of the products in storage. Two caverns have already been leased, with the remaining three chambers set for completion by 2016.
Photo: Jurong Town Corporation
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