SINGAPORE, Sept 3 – Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong officially opened Southeast Asia’s first commercial underground rock cavern storage facility for liquid hydrocarbons – the Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC) – in Singapore.
Located 150 metres (m) below the ground, four times the depth of Bras Basah station which is the deepest station in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit network,the JRC is the deepest known underground public works endeavour in Singapore to date, making it an engineering and construction feat.
Adding to the complexity is the challenge of having to construct the Caverns 130m beneath the seabed.Today’s opening marks the culmination of six years of conceptual work and planning, and eight years of rigorous construction.
To bring this project from drawing board to reality, developer JTC Corporation (JTC) assembled an international team of experts and specialists and employed cutting-edge construction methods to build five nine-storey high caverns, nine kilometres of tunnels, and piping networks with supporting JTC Chairman Dr Loo Choon Yong said, “As a small city state, we are constantly pushing boundaries in our quest to overcome our scarce land resource.
“The Jurong Rock Caverns required us to venture into unfamiliar grounds and surmount engineering challenges never encountered before. Its success attests to our resolve to persevere and diligently deliver innovative and sustainable infrastructure solutions for Singapore,” he said.
The JRC is a key initiative by the Singapore Government to create productive economic space to support the growth of industries and enterprises.
– BERNAMA
