This article was first published in the December 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
As a tiny island city-state, Singapore can't expand outwards -- so it's moving underground. The Jurong Rock Caverns, being built 150 metres underneath petrochemical hub Jurong Island, will be taller than a nine-storey building and store almost 1.5 million cubic metres of oil -- the capacity of 600 Olympic swimming pools.
"With the limited land available, one of the best possible ways to increase space is to create it underground," says Jian Zhao, professor of geomechanics at Monash University, who led the initial feasibility study for the caverns.
Together, the five caves will create 60 hectares of space below Banyan Basin. The first of the five caverns took eight years to complete, and the next four are still in the making. JTC, the local corporation tasked with their development, hopes to complete the project by the end of 2016.
Each of the caverns, and the 9km of access tunnels built around them, were drilled and cleared using explosives, then lined with cement and finally stabilised with bolts anchored into the rock. To prevent any of the hydrocarbons leaking into the rock walls, a series of water-filled tunnels and boreholes were built around the caverns; this "water curtain" keeps the caverns sealed through hydrostatic pressure.
This is not the country's first underground endeavour. "Singapore has already built one of the most advanced underground ammunition facilities in rock caverns," says Zhao. Some roads, the metro system, sewage treatment and transport facilities are also housed underground. Next are plans for underground power plants, sports stadiums and even libraries. "The government has launched a 130m Singaporean dollar (£60m) R&D programme called National Innovation Challenges: Land and Liveability -- and one of the focuses is on creating underground space for better urban living there," says Zhao. "Singapore is leading the world on exploring underground space as part of the urban development."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
