Jurong Island
Encyclopedia
Jurong Island is an artificial island
located to the southwest of the main island of Singapore
, off Jurong
Industrial Estate. It was formed from the amalgamation of seven offshore island
s, the islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil (also called Terumbu Pesek), Pulau Sakra (which was a previous merger of Pulau Sakra and Pulau Bakau), Pulau Seraya, Pulau Meskol, Pulau Mesemut Laut, Pulau Mesemut Darat and Anak Pulau. This was done through land reclamation
. Land reclamation on Jurong Island was completed on September 24, 2009, 20 years earlier than scheduled. Pulau Buaya was joined to Jurong Island via reclamation in 2010. Jurong Island forms a land area of about 32 km² (12.4 sq mi) from an initial area of less than 10 km² (4 sq mi), and is the largest of Singapore's outlying islands.
-style wooden stilt houses on the palm
-fringed islands. Between late-1960s and early-1970s, three big oil companies planned to house their facilities on Pulau Ayer Chawan for Esso
, Pulau Merlimau for Singapore Refinery Company and Pulau Pesek for Mobil
Oil.
The Government of Singapore
then took the opportunity to grow the petrochemical
industry as a choice that will significantly produce economic growth. This was proven by the success of starting off the petroleum industries in the 1970s.
By the 1980s, after a decade of rapid industrialisation
, industrial land was growing scarce on Singapore mainland
. The idea of joining the southern islands off Jurong to form one colossal island to create more industrial land was therefore conceived.
In 1991, JTC Corporation
(formerly Jurong Town Corporation) was appointed the agent of the Jurong Island project. JTC planned and coordinated with various government agencies in providing the necessary infrastructure and services to the island.
Physical land reclamation began in 1995, and Jurong Island was officially opened on October 14, 2000 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
. From the 9.91 km² land area of the original seven islets, as of completion of the land reclamation on September 25, 2009, Jurong Island currently has a total land area of 30 km². PentaOcean
Construction was the major contractor and reclamation was completed 20 years ahead of schedule.
, BP
, Celanese
, ExxonMobil
, DuPont
, Mitsui Chemicals
, Chevron Oronite, Shell
, Singapore Petroleum Company
and Sumitomo Chemical
.
Clusters of gigantic cylindrical tanks amid a maze of pipelines now dot the island; investment has totalled S$31 billion in 2010. Resident companies produce a vast range of items, from petroleum products to polycarbonate
resin
s used in CDs, DVD
s and LCD TV panels, and super absorbent polymer
s that go into diaper
s and sanitary napkin
s.
ExxonMobil, which has invested S$4 billion in a refinery
and cracker
plant, makes industrial and automotive lubricant
s including a product used in Formula One
racing cars. DuPont invested S$1 billion, and manufactures Zytel
nylon
resin, a versatile engineering plastic used in automobile
components, appliances, wire
insulation
, sporting gear and home furnishings.
Output for the chemicals cluster—which cover oil and gas, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals—totaled S$66.5 billion in 2005, an increase of 31 per cent from 2004. This accounted for almost 32 per cent of production in Singapore's manufacturing
sector. Powered by the cluster, Singapore is currently one of the world's top three oil refining centres despite not having a single drop of crude deposits.
Jurong Island's refineries process 1300000 barrels (206,683,483.5 l) of crude oil per day, turning it into petrol, kerosene
and jet fuel
sold locally and abroad. Cracker plants break down the molecules of other oil-and gas-related substances such as naphtha
into additives that give unique characteristics to certain products, from printer
ink
s to plastic moulding
s, semiconductor
s and aircraft
materials.
Apart from imported crude, natural gas
from Indonesia
's West Natuna
field
arrives at Jurong Island via a 640 km undersea pipeline. Some of it is refined to provide a source of cleaner and cheaper fuel, while the rest is sent to crackers that make other petrochemical products. The country's first refilling station for compressed natural gas
(CNG) opened on Jurong Island in 2002. As most of the 2500+ cars running on CNG in Singapore are not allowed to enter the island because the drivers do not have the necessary security pass, four more CNG stations opened on the main island until September 2009.
helps to protect the island.
Access to the island is limited to staff and visitors, and they are issued with security passes. Other restrictions include that one must declare any photographic equipment that they are bringing to the island, due to security reasons. Without permission from the Island Security it is not allowed to take photographs or videos on Jurong Island. Anyone getting caught taking pictures or videos will be handed over to the police. Once found guilty, the Jurong Island pass will be confiscated and the offender would not be able to enter Jurong Island.
Jurong Island and the southwestern waters will be used for Exercise Northstar 8 from 21 November to 25 November 2011. However, the Exercise Northstar 8 was only carried out on 25 November 2011 after 4pm at Jurong Island, up to 7.30pm respectively.
s, and an amenity centre known as Oasis@Sakra that houses a food court
, a medical clinic
and a free of charge multi storey carpark. The island also houses the Pulau Seraya Power Station, Singapore's first offshore power station
, which was built in phases on the former Pulau Seraya since 1986.
The island has a network of pipelines that allows for seamless integration among companies. For example, Japan
's Teijin
can receive piped-in chlorine
produced by CIFE company and bisphenol A
from Mitsui Chemicals to make polycarbonates. Red pipes carry water for firefighting and green pipes, sea water for cooling. Huge silver pipes carry steam
and small silver pipes bring product lines.
There are two major cargo jetties on Jurong Island, namely Sakra Jetty and Banyan Jetty. Sakra Jetty is managed and controlled by ExxonMobil.
Jurong Island is linked to the main island by a 2.3 km causeway
known as the Jurong Island Highway
, opened in March 1999. Several public bus services run between Jurong Island and the mainland.
s, animal feed
s, consumer care items such as cosmetics
and industrial enzyme
s that will support the biomedical sector. As part of this effort to move up the value chain
, the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Science (an A*STAR research institute) has been set up on Jurong Island.
Construction work on Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC), Singapore's first underground rock
caverns for storage of crude oil, condensate
s, naphtha and gas-oil, started in February 2007. JTC Corporation
has been appointed by the Singapore government to undertake the construction of JRC.
Located beneath the seabed of Banyan Basin, off Jurong Island, JRC will be completed in phases beginning from 2013. In the first phase, the caverns will have a storage capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres. Phase 2, which can potentially add another 1.32 million cubic metres, is being explored.
There are also plans to build a second causeway to link the Western end of Jurong Island Highway and Gul Road in Jurong Industrial Estate on mainland Singapore but it was shelved also. The investment project for second causeway was shifted to build HDB flats at Western Water Catchment in the later decade.
Artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...
located to the southwest of the main island of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, off Jurong
Jurong
Jurong is the largest town in the western part of Singapore, consisting of 11 residential precincts, 14 industrial districts, 1 military zone and 1 Waterfront district. It resembles Woodlands, the largest town in the northern part of Singapore, which is smaller in size, has smaller industrial area...
Industrial Estate. It was formed from the amalgamation of seven offshore island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s, the islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil (also called Terumbu Pesek), Pulau Sakra (which was a previous merger of Pulau Sakra and Pulau Bakau), Pulau Seraya, Pulau Meskol, Pulau Mesemut Laut, Pulau Mesemut Darat and Anak Pulau. This was done through land reclamation
Land reclamation
Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, is the process to create new land from sea or riverbeds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamation ground or landfill.- Habitation :...
. Land reclamation on Jurong Island was completed on September 24, 2009, 20 years earlier than scheduled. Pulau Buaya was joined to Jurong Island via reclamation in 2010. Jurong Island forms a land area of about 32 km² (12.4 sq mi) from an initial area of less than 10 km² (4 sq mi), and is the largest of Singapore's outlying islands.
History
The outlying islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau and Pulau Seraya were used to house fishing communities comprising small villages up to the 1960s. The villagers lived in MalayMalay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
-style wooden stilt houses on the palm
Arecaceae
Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...
-fringed islands. Between late-1960s and early-1970s, three big oil companies planned to house their facilities on Pulau Ayer Chawan for Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
, Pulau Merlimau for Singapore Refinery Company and Pulau Pesek for Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
Oil.
The Government of Singapore
Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet of Singapore. Although the President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check...
then took the opportunity to grow the petrochemical
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
industry as a choice that will significantly produce economic growth. This was proven by the success of starting off the petroleum industries in the 1970s.
By the 1980s, after a decade of rapid industrialisation
Industrialisation
Industrialization is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one...
, industrial land was growing scarce on Singapore mainland
Pulau Ujong
Pulau Ujong or Singapore Island is the main island of the island country of Singapore. It forms the majority of the island country in terms of area and population...
. The idea of joining the southern islands off Jurong to form one colossal island to create more industrial land was therefore conceived.
In 1991, JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation , formerly the Jurong Town Corporation, is Singapore's principal developer and manager of industrial estates and their related facilities.-History:JTC was established on 1 June 1968 to develop industrial estates...
(formerly Jurong Town Corporation) was appointed the agent of the Jurong Island project. JTC planned and coordinated with various government agencies in providing the necessary infrastructure and services to the island.
Physical land reclamation began in 1995, and Jurong Island was officially opened on October 14, 2000 by then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong
Goh Chok Tong is the Senior Minister of Singapore and the chairman of the central bank of Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He also served as the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore from 28 November 1990 to 12 August 2004, succeeding Lee Kuan Yew, the former Prime...
. From the 9.91 km² land area of the original seven islets, as of completion of the land reclamation on September 25, 2009, Jurong Island currently has a total land area of 30 km². PentaOcean
PentaOcean
is a major Japanese construction firm. It specializes in marine works and land reclamation. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Osaka Stock Exchange, and Nagoya Stock Exchange as ticker 1893.It originated from Mizuno Gumi in 1896 in Hiroshima Prefecture, and later renamed to the current...
Construction was the major contractor and reclamation was completed 20 years ahead of schedule.
Petrochemical industries
Today, Jurong Island is home to many companies such as BASFBASF
BASF SE is the largest chemical company in the world and is headquartered in Germany. BASF originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik . Today, the four letters are a registered trademark and the company is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange, and Zurich Stock...
, BP
BP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
, Celanese
Celanese
Celanese Corporation is a Fortune 500 global technology and specialty materials company with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. The company is a leading producer of acetyl products, which are intermediate chemicals for nearly all major industries, and is the world's largest producer of vinyl...
, ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
, DuPont
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
, Mitsui Chemicals
Mitsui Chemicals
is a Japanese Chemicals company listed on the Nikkei. It is a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. The company has a turnover of around 15 billion USD and has business interests in Japan, Europe, China, Southeast Asia and the USA. It employs approximately 13,000 people worldwide. The company mainly...
, Chevron Oronite, Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, Singapore Petroleum Company
Singapore Petroleum Company
Singapore Petroleum Company Limited is a Singaporean oil company. SPC is involved in the exploration and production of petroleum, refining, trading and petroleum product distribution.- History :...
and Sumitomo Chemical
Sumitomo Chemical
Sumitomo Chemical is a Japanese company. It's a member of the Sumitomo group and is listed on the Nikkei 225. The company is one of Japan's major chemical companies and was founded in 1913.-Company Milestones:...
.
Clusters of gigantic cylindrical tanks amid a maze of pipelines now dot the island; investment has totalled S$31 billion in 2010. Resident companies produce a vast range of items, from petroleum products to polycarbonate
Polycarbonate
PolycarbonatePhysical PropertiesDensity 1.20–1.22 g/cm3Abbe number 34.0Refractive index 1.584–1.586FlammabilityV0-V2Limiting oxygen index25–27%Water absorption – Equilibrium0.16–0.35%Water absorption – over 24 hours0.1%...
resin
Resin
Resin in the most specific use of the term is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants, particularly coniferous trees. Resins are valued for their chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnishes, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials...
s used in CDs, DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s and LCD TV panels, and super absorbent polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
s that go into diaper
Diaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
s and sanitary napkin
Sanitary napkin
A sanitary napkin, sanitary towel, sanitary pad, menstrual pad, maxi pad, or pad is an absorbent item worn by a woman while she is menstruating, recovering from vaginal surgery, for lochia , abortion, or any other situation where it is necessary to absorb a flow of blood from a woman's vagina.These...
s.
ExxonMobil, which has invested S$4 billion in a refinery
Refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.-Types of refineries:Different types of refineries are as follows:...
and cracker
Cracking (chemistry)
In petroleum geology and chemistry, cracking is the process whereby complex organic molecules such as kerogens or heavy hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules such as light hydrocarbons, by the breaking of carbon-carbon bonds in the precursors. The rate of cracking and the end products...
plant, makes industrial and automotive lubricant
Lubricant
A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...
s including a product used in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
racing cars. DuPont invested S$1 billion, and manufactures Zytel
Zytel
Zytel is a trademark owned by DuPont and used for a number of different high strength, abrasion and impact resistant thermoplastic polyamide formulations of the family more commonly known as nylon, often with varying degrees of fiberglass, from 13% to 60%, added in for additional stiffness.Some of...
nylon
Nylon
Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...
resin, a versatile engineering plastic used in automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
components, appliances, wire
Wire
A wire is a single, usually cylindrical, flexible strand or rod of metal. Wires are used to bear mechanical loads and to carry electricity and telecommunications signals. Wire is commonly formed by drawing the metal through a hole in a die or draw plate. Standard sizes are determined by various...
insulation
Electrical insulation
thumb|250px|[[Coaxial Cable]] with dielectric insulator supporting a central coreThis article refers to electrical insulation. For insulation of heat, see Thermal insulation...
, sporting gear and home furnishings.
Output for the chemicals cluster—which cover oil and gas, petrochemicals and specialty chemicals—totaled S$66.5 billion in 2005, an increase of 31 per cent from 2004. This accounted for almost 32 per cent of production in Singapore's manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
sector. Powered by the cluster, Singapore is currently one of the world's top three oil refining centres despite not having a single drop of crude deposits.
Jurong Island's refineries process 1300000 barrels (206,683,483.5 l) of crude oil per day, turning it into petrol, kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
and jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
sold locally and abroad. Cracker plants break down the molecules of other oil-and gas-related substances such as naphtha
Naphtha
Naphtha normally refers to a number of different flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbons, i.e., a component of natural gas condensate or a distillation product from petroleum, coal tar or peat boiling in a certain range and containing certain hydrocarbons. It is a broad term covering among the...
into additives that give unique characteristics to certain products, from printer
Printer (publisher)
In publishing, printers are both companies providing printing services and individuals who directly operate printing presses. With the invention of the moveable type printing press by Johannes Gutenberg around 1450, printing—and printers—proliferated throughout Europe.Today, printers are found...
ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
s to plastic moulding
Molding (process)
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
s, semiconductor
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
s and aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
materials.
Apart from imported crude, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
's West Natuna
Natuna Islands
The Natuna Islands archipelago is located in the Natuna Sea in the larger Tudjuh Archipelago, off the northwest coast of Borneo. The islands are administratively part of the Riau Islands province of Indonesia and are the northernmost non-disputed island group of Indonesia...
field
Natural gas field
Oil and natural gas are produced by the same geological process according fossil fuel suggestion: anaerobic decay of organic matter deep under the Earth's surface. As a consequence, oil and natural gas are often found together...
arrives at Jurong Island via a 640 km undersea pipeline. Some of it is refined to provide a source of cleaner and cheaper fuel, while the rest is sent to crackers that make other petrochemical products. The country's first refilling station for compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas
Compressed natural gas is a fossil fuel substitute for gasoline , diesel, or propane/LPG. Although its combustion does produce greenhouse gases, it is a more environmentally clean alternative to those fuels, and it is much safer than other fuels in the event of a spill...
(CNG) opened on Jurong Island in 2002. As most of the 2500+ cars running on CNG in Singapore are not allowed to enter the island because the drivers do not have the necessary security pass, four more CNG stations opened on the main island until September 2009.
Security
Jurong Island was gazetted as a Protected Place since September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Access control is contracted to a private security company, while the Singapore ArmySingapore Army
The Singapore Army is the branch of the Singapore Armed Forces responsible for land operations. It is the largest of the three armed services and heavily reliant on a conscript army, comprising the majority of Singapore's Operationally Ready National Servicemen .-Capabilities:The mission of the...
helps to protect the island.
Access to the island is limited to staff and visitors, and they are issued with security passes. Other restrictions include that one must declare any photographic equipment that they are bringing to the island, due to security reasons. Without permission from the Island Security it is not allowed to take photographs or videos on Jurong Island. Anyone getting caught taking pictures or videos will be handed over to the police. Once found guilty, the Jurong Island pass will be confiscated and the offender would not be able to enter Jurong Island.
Jurong Island and the southwestern waters will be used for Exercise Northstar 8 from 21 November to 25 November 2011. However, the Exercise Northstar 8 was only carried out on 25 November 2011 after 4pm at Jurong Island, up to 7.30pm respectively.
Infrastructure
Jurong Island has two fire stationFire station
A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...
s, and an amenity centre known as Oasis@Sakra that houses a food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
, a medical clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
and a free of charge multi storey carpark. The island also houses the Pulau Seraya Power Station, Singapore's first offshore power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
, which was built in phases on the former Pulau Seraya since 1986.
The island has a network of pipelines that allows for seamless integration among companies. For example, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's Teijin
Teijin
is a Japanese chemical and pharmaceutical company. It is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of USD 3.9 billion. It operates in five main business segments: synthetic fibres; films and plastics; pharmaceuticals and home health care; trading and retail; and IT and new...
can receive piped-in chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
produced by CIFE company and bisphenol A
Bisphenol A
Bisphenol A is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is used to make polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins, along with other applications....
from Mitsui Chemicals to make polycarbonates. Red pipes carry water for firefighting and green pipes, sea water for cooling. Huge silver pipes carry steam
Steam
Steam is the technical term for water vapor, the gaseous phase of water, which is formed when water boils. In common language it is often used to refer to the visible mist of water droplets formed as this water vapor condenses in the presence of cooler air...
and small silver pipes bring product lines.
There are two major cargo jetties on Jurong Island, namely Sakra Jetty and Banyan Jetty. Sakra Jetty is managed and controlled by ExxonMobil.
Jurong Island is linked to the main island by a 2.3 km causeway
Causeway
In modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
known as the Jurong Island Highway
Jurong Island Highway
Jurong Island Highway is a major highway in Singapore which links Jurong Pier Road in Jurong Port of the main island to Jurong Island. It was opened in March 1999...
, opened in March 1999. Several public bus services run between Jurong Island and the mainland.
Future plans
To raise its competitive edge, Singapore is moving to produce higher-value-added specialty products, including chemicals that would go into animal vaccineVaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that improves immunity to a particular disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism, and is often made from weakened or killed forms of the microbe or its toxins...
s, animal feed
Compound feed
Compound feeds are feedstuffs that are blended from various raw materials and additives. These blends are formulated according to the specific requirements of the target animal...
s, consumer care items such as cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
and industrial enzyme
Enzyme
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...
s that will support the biomedical sector. As part of this effort to move up the value chain
Value chain
The value chain, is a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance.-Firm Level:...
, the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Science (an A*STAR research institute) has been set up on Jurong Island.
Construction work on Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC), Singapore's first underground rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
caverns for storage of crude oil, condensate
Natural gas condensate
Natural-gas condensate is a low-density mixture of hydrocarbon liquids that are present as gaseous components in the raw natural gas produced from many natural gas fields....
s, naphtha and gas-oil, started in February 2007. JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation
JTC Corporation , formerly the Jurong Town Corporation, is Singapore's principal developer and manager of industrial estates and their related facilities.-History:JTC was established on 1 June 1968 to develop industrial estates...
has been appointed by the Singapore government to undertake the construction of JRC.
Located beneath the seabed of Banyan Basin, off Jurong Island, JRC will be completed in phases beginning from 2013. In the first phase, the caverns will have a storage capacity of 1.47 million cubic metres. Phase 2, which can potentially add another 1.32 million cubic metres, is being explored.
There are also plans to build a second causeway to link the Western end of Jurong Island Highway and Gul Road in Jurong Industrial Estate on mainland Singapore but it was shelved also. The investment project for second causeway was shifted to build HDB flats at Western Water Catchment in the later decade.