Norway rocks

Faced with the growing demand for oil storage, coupled with the scarcity of industrial land, Singapore’s JTC Corporation ventured underground in search of an innovative solution for more industrial space. This resulted in a groundbreaking solution for oil storage with the gigantic underground rock caverns off Jurong Island. When completed, the first phase of the rock cavern project will hold approximately eight million barrels of oil and other petroleum product. In this way, the petro chemical plants at Jurong can rely on a stable and uninterrupted supply. The underground solution is safe and durable, and saves approximately 60 hectares of surface land that may be used for other purposes.

While Norway is more widely known for its maritime and offshore technology, Norway’s hydro power industry and mountainous topography have also resulted in strong engineering capabilities for tunneling and underground solutions. Norwegian competence in underground solutions and rock excavation has for many years been in international demand. At Jurong Rock Caverns, a Norwegian consortium consisting of Sintef, Tritech and Multiconsult is offering engineering solutions and project management to JTC, making sure that this gigantic, eight year project finishes on time and within budget. The Norwegian Embassy had the pleasure of visiting the Jurong Rock Caverns and Project Manager Petter Plassbak to get a firsthand impression of progress.

Inspired by its involvement in the Jurong Rock Caverns project, Multiconsult, a leading Norwegian consultancy and engineering company, is now establishing itself in Singapore with the aim to help develop more space underground. To utilize the underground is an approach that is increasingly popular in densely populated areas, in Singapore and beyond. We welcome Multiconsult Asia Pte. Ltd. in the ever growing family of Norwegian companies in Singapore.

The Norwegian consortium presented in 2009 a study to JTC Corporation which identified possible uses of the underground in Singapore. The study resulted in JTC being awarded an innovation prize by the Ministry of Trade and Industry.