Phase 1 of the JRC consists of 8km of tunnels and 5 caverns housing a total of 9 storage galleries. The caverns were built using a technique that drills and blasts sedimentary rock. For greater stability, the inner walls were lined with rock bolts. Two of its access shafts and start-up tunnels have been completed in 2009 and the project is now moving on to the construction of the tunnels, caverns and associated facilities.
Phase 2 of the project will double the facility’s storage capacity. GK-JCPL Consortium, a Jurong International partnership with French engineering firm Geostock, was awarded the contract to provide basic engineering design and construction management services for the Caverns and its associated facilities. Jurong International is responsible for many of the heavy infrastructure and engineering projects associated with Jurong Island, including its initial formation via reclamation and joining together of seven islands.
When the first two caverns are completed in 2013, they will yield a capacity of 0.48 million m3. By the time the entire facility is completed in 2014, 1.47 million m3 of oil storage space will be made available to the oil storage industry. At 27m high, 20m wide and 340m long, the caverns stand as tall as a 9-storey building.
The caverns provide strategic storage for better fuel security. It also gives Singapore a competitive advantage to attract more investors.