180. JURONG ISLAND

An afternoon's outing took me across to Jurong Island - a high security, tightly controlled corner off the main island, but still opened to those curious enough to want to see what makes the place tick or what this reclaimed land is all about.

It's like crossing a border into another country. Immigration gates are been constructed (above), there's passes involved and prior notice was given and permission obtained to enter the complex, bags were searched, identities verified...

It's surprisingly large. Like a smaller version of the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA) but with a lot less workers. Everything is so high tech, mechanised and computerised using the very lastest technology or proven innovations that work, is applied here...robots are been considered for certain jobs...

There's more building going on...

The nerve center - the remote control room - this is for this energy company, other companies operating on the Island would have their own...they need just 3 staff to man this room when it used to be up to 60 people or more working shifts. This room operates 24/7 - Jurong Island is monitored 24/7

The Island has several missiles protecting it parked in secret locations - my host had no details on this...or he's not talking!

The petrochemical industry contributes 60% to Singapore's GDP but I'm not sure if this includes what comes out from Pulau Bukom, it probably does. Despite its tight security, the latter is now in the spotlight for the theft of many millions of dollars of oil belonging to the Shell refinery, by employees and others in cahoots...

Fuel and water storage tanks are part of the landscape as far as the eye can see. All full-time staff are trained firefighters as this is a dangerous workplace, fires can be oil, gas or chemicals. Converted wastewater Newater is put to good use here!

Every quarterly, electricity and gas prices are adjusted upwards or down, dependent on the price of oil, the raw material. Singapore has to purchase in USD and from the best sources for the cleanest oil, so the air over Jurong Island is blue skies with little or no smoke/haze. For a country that does not produce a drop of oil, this industry contributes billions to the economy from processing and refining...all the fine details are on Google, this info I'm getting from my host as he rattles away, too fast for me to absorb it all...

I would have liked to take a look at the Jurong Rock Caverns, the storage facility underground but it's not a comfortable place as it's terribly hot and humid below and waterproof boots are necessary as the ground is covered with water most times...it's inevitable as seawater is allowed to seep in and there's a contractor whose sole job is to monitor how much water gets into the cavern

Till I saw this place, I hadn't fully realise how much intelligent planning and foresight and insight had gone into the management of Singapore with help from the best brains sourced from the world.