Jurong Rock Caverns

“The Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC) project is the first commercial underground rock caverns facility for liquid hydrocarbons storage in Singapore and South-east Asia. 2015 marks the culmination of 6 years of conceptual work and planning, and 8 years of rigorous construction to date.

Located 150m below the ground, 4 times the depth of Bras Basah station, the deepest station in Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, the JRC is the deepest known underground public works endeavor 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.

To bring this project from drawing board to reality, developer JTC Corporation (JTC) assembled an international team of experts and specialists employing cutting-edge construction methods to build five 9-storey high caverns, 9km of tunnels, and supporting pipe networks. The Caverns will be used to store 1.47 million m3 of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil and condensate. Such a capacity is equivalent to 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The JRC project exemplifies the nation’s efforts in overcoming land constraints to sustain the long-term growth of the economy. As a small city-state with a land area of about 716km2, Singapore has to be resourceful and creative with land usage. JTC, as the government agency responsible for industrial infrastructure development, has implemented innovative ways to create and optimise land use to support economic growth. Reclaiming land and building high-rise industrial infrastructure have been the main thrusts in providing industrial land and space. With the JRC project, JTC is now
spearheading a new paradigm by going into great subterranean depths. This frees up surface land for more productive economic space to support and
sustain the growth of industries.”