Work on Singapore’s first underground oil storage facility (picture) is finally underway after an eight-month delay.Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) has appointed Hyundai Engineering, which has similar construction experience in Taiwan and Korea, to build the first phase of tunnels and caves under Jurong Island. Work on the $890-million project is expected to start by year-end, with the first two caves ready by 2013.
Two shafts 45 storeys high, which took workers two years to complete, are the main access points to a yet-to-be-constructed 8km network of tunnels.
The tunnels will connect five massive oil storage caverns — big enough to store 1.47 million cubic metres of liquid hydrocarbons like crude oil, or 580 Olympic-sized pools’ worth.
JTC said the cavern has been strategically constructed under the seabed on Jurong Island to be near potential customers already storing similar products above ground.
Phase 1 is also expected to save some 60 hectares of surface land which can be used for other higher value-added activities. Phase 2 could add a further 1.3 million cubic metres of storage space.
Storing strategic items like oil and ammunition underground has been a growing trend in Asia since the increased security risks post-911. JTC has studied similar projects in Norway, France, Japan and Korea.
Channel NewsAsia
From TODAY, News – Friday, 17-April-2009
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