Singapore Completes Jurong Island's Reclamation

Bernama 25 Sep 09;

SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- A significant milestone in the history of Singapore's industrial development, Jurong Island's reclamation, has been completed on Friday.

Singapore's Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang who officiated at the completion ceremony, said that from an initial area of less than 1,000 hectare, Jurong Island now spans a land mass of about 3,000 hectare.

Jurong Island is now home to 95 companies and is the cornerstone of Singapore's energy and chemical industry, reports China's Xinhua news agency.

The minister said that the key was industry integration. It was about helping chemical companies save costs by capitalising on vertical and horizontal linkages: upstream plants supplying feedstock to downstream manufacturers, sharing common facilities.

He added that it was about finding out the right match of companies to maximize the synergies of integration and co-location, about reaping the benefits of economies of scale.

"The story of Jurong Island is the result of innovation, determination, hard work, and perseverance. This project showcases the foresight, tenacity and teamwork of many government agencies in overcoming extraordinary odds. Their efforts have contributed in no small part to Singapore's economic success," he said.

Land reclamation completed for Jurong Island
Rachel Kelly, Channel NewsAsia 25 Sep 09;

SINGAPORE: The reclamation of Singapore's Jurong Island was completed on Friday after nearly a decade, marking a major milestone in the country's industrial development.

Although the initial completion date was 2030, the project finished some 20 years ahead of schedule, due to high demand from big global names for space on the island.

The companies currently housed on the 3,000-hectare island account for about 80 per cent of the manufacturing output from the energy and chemical sectors in Singapore.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the completion of the reclamation, Lim Hng Kiang, Minister for Trade and Industry, said the plan is to position the island as the industrial development model of the future – coupling world-class competitiveness with sustainable and responsible development growth.

"The key was integration. It was about helping chemical companies save costs by capitalising on vertical and horizontal linkages - upstream plants supplying feedstock to downstream manufacturers, sharing common facilities," said Mr Lim.

Ninety-five leading energy and chemical companies have invested more than S$31 billion in fixed assets on Jurong Island.

JTC Corporation, the island's industrial landlord, said the eastern part of the island is now fully occupied, but plots remain for investors on the western side.

JTC also said that it hopes to see more companies conduct research and development on the island to bring Singapore's petrochemical production up the value chain.

And while reclamation may have been completed, further expansion of the island has not been ruled out. Currently, further storage and infrastructure projects, such as the Jurong Rock Cavern and Very Large Floating Structure (VLFS), are well underway.

"We are looking at jetties to see how we can better facilitate jetties... because as the population grows here, roads will be more congested, so if you use barging as an alternative means to trucking for transport of chemicals, I think it will be helpful," said Cedric Foo, chairman of JTC Corporation.

Plans for a second link, connecting the mainland to the island, have been confirmed, but details of the project have yet to be announced.

- CNA/sc

Ramp up for Jurong Island
Robin Chan, Straits Times 26 Sep 09;

JURONG Town Corporation is ramping up its infrastructure spending on Jurong Island to support more investments.

These will include the building of a barging terminal and a possible second road link that will improve access and transport of products to and from the island, on top of the ongoing billion dollar underground Jurong Rock Cavern for storing petrochemicals and oil.

JTC chairman Cedric Foo also said some investment projects on Jurong Island that had been postponed due to the financial crisis have resumed. He would not say which companies these were.

Companies like Jurong Aromatics Corporation and Lanxess have pushed back projects on Jurong Island because of the financial crisis.

Mr Foo was speaking on Friday at a ceremony to celebrate the completion of the island's land reclamation project that finished 21 years ahead of schedule, to meet the surge in demand.

He said that JTC will also implement a biometric access system at its checkpoint which is due to be ready in 2011.

Jurong Island is home to 95 global petrochemical companies that have invested over $31 billion.

'We will continue to find ways to adjust the Jurong Island profile to bring about stronger integration for greater operating efficiencies by the companies, in particular to accomodate new entrants,' said Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the ceremony.

'Our vision is for Jurong Island to be a global energy and chemical hub.

'We intend to achieve a critical mass of feedstock, move to higher value chemical chains which produce specialty chemicals and advanced materials and partner companies in developing new chemical products.'

Jurong Isle to get new facilities
New barge terminal, second road coming up
Robin Chan, Straits Times 26 Sep 09;

JURONG Island, the centrepiece of Singapore's petrochemical industry, is getting a major infrastructure upgrade.

A new barge terminal and a second road to the mainland to ease traffic congestion and improve logistics will be built by industrial landlord JTC.

These new projects are in addition to the ongoing construction of the billion-dollar underground Jurong Rock Cavern for storing petrochemicals and oils.

The additional infrastructure work was announced by JTC chairman Cedric Foo yesterday at a ceremony to mark the completion of Jurong Island's 14-year land reclamation project.

The huge undertaking was finished ahead of its original intended target of 2030 to meet a surge in demand for development space.

Mr Foo told the media later that some companies had indicated that they would resume Jurong Island projects postponed because of the financial crisis now that the economy was looking up.

He declined to specify which companies.

Jurong Aromatics Corporation (JAC) and synthetic rubber producer Lanxess pushed back Jurong Island projects earlier in the year because of the downturn.

JAC is so far the only known company reported to have indicated that it would use the Jurong Rock Cavern facility for storage.

Mr Foo said JTC will also be implementing a biometric access system at its checkpoint to enhance security. This facility is expected to be completed in 2011.

The first phase of the barging terminal is slated to start operating in 2011, while the second road link is still under study.

Mr Foo said that JTC may also place more ship berthing facilities, such as jetties, on the island.

Jurong Island is home to 94 global petrochemical companies such as ExxonMobil and Japan's Mitsui Chemicals that have invested over $31 billion. These companies make up 80 per cent of Singapore's energy and chemicals industry.

The petrochemicals industry is an important segment of the economy and contributed 5.3 per cent of the value added to gross domestic product last year.

The island itself is formed from seven separate islands off the south coast. The 991ha of original land has been expanded to 3,000ha over 15 years.

'The story of Jurong Island is the result of innovation, determination, hard work and perseverance,' said Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang at the ceremony.

He recounted how Singapore had not allowed the disruption to the import of sea sand to delay the reclamation plans, instead using alternative sources of sand supply and exploring other ways to meet the need.

The island now also hosts research and development facilities in addition to manufacturing plants.

Mr Lim said: 'We will continue to find ways to adjust the Jurong Island profile to bring about stronger integration for greater operating efficiencies by the companies, in particular to accommodate new entrants.'

Carving more routes to Jurong Island
JTC to build new road link and barging terminal for energy and chemical firms
Emilyn Yap, Business Times 26 Sep 09;

JURONG Island will be getting a new road link and barging terminal to support its growing energy and chemicals cluster.

Industrial landlord JTC Corporation unveiled these new projects yesterday as it celebrated the end of reclamation works on the island - 21 years ahead of schedule.

Jurong Island was formed by merging seven southern offshore islands with a total land mass of 991ha. Reclamation began in 1995 and was targeted for completion in 2030. But JTC sped up the project as demand for land on Jurong Island surged and exceeded expectations.

In 2000, there were 61 petrochemical companies which had invested $21 billion on the island. Today, there are 95 firms which have poured in over $31 billion into fixed assets.

Jurong Island spans 3,000ha and companies have fully taken up land on its east side. There are 'small pockets' of land left in the western part of the island and 'many investors are very keen to come here', JTC chairman Cedric Foo told the press on the sidelines of the event. Investments will grow 'probably at a good pace. . . My estimate is, probably no worse than the historical average'.

The economic downturn had forced some companies such as Tuas Power to postpone projects on Jurong Island. Mr Foo said that some firms may be resuming the projects, though he did not identify them.

To anchor more investments, JTC will continue to improve infrastructure on Jurong Island. It has finished a preliminary study on building another road from the mainland for the growing working population - some 38,000 people pass through the island's checkpoint daily.

The agency will need to iron out details such as the position and cost of the second link, which could be completed by 2017.

ExxonMobil Chemical manufacturing director (Singapore chemical plant) Derk Jan Hartgerink welcomed the news. 'There is a lot of traffic coming to the island, the industry is growing. . . Sooner or later the second link has to be built.'

JTC will also be building a barging terminal on the western part of the island. The first phase of the project will be ready by 2011 and it will give chemical companies another way to transport products. The option is particularly useful because there are only a few roads trucks carrying hazardous materials can use to get to the island.

To boost security on Jurong Island, JTC will also introduce a biometric access system at the checkpoint. It is assessing various technologies and will award the tender for the project by the end of the year. The system should be completed by 2011.

Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang was also speaking at the event yesterday. 'We will continue to find ways to adjust the Jurong Island profile to bring about stronger integration and greater operating efficiencies,' he said.

'We intend to achieve a critical mass of feedstock, move to higher value chemical chains which produce specialty chemicals and advanced materials, and bring in partner companies in developing new chemical products.'

Companies on Jurong Island accounted for 80 per cent of the energy and chemical industry manufacturing output, Mr Lim said.