Jurong Island was formed from the merging of several offshore islands, namely Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kecil, Pulau Sakra and Pulau Seraya off Jurong in the Singapore mainland. This was done by land reclamation.
Between late-1960s and early-1970s, 3 big oil companies planned to build their oil facilities - on the islands of Pulau Ayer Chawan for Esso, Pulau Merlimau for Singapore Refinery Company and Pulau Pesek for Mobil.
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.
In 1991, JTC Corporation (Jurong Town Corporation) was appointed the agent of the Jurong Island project. JTC planned and coordinated with various government agencies to be able to provide necessary infrastructure and services to the island, after through land reclamation to form the united island from the scarcely populated islands.
Today, Juong Island is home to leading petrochemical companies; industry luminaries like BASF, BP, Celanese, ExxonMobil, Dupont, Mitsui Chemicals, Chevron Oronite, Shell and Sumitomo Chemical have taken the opportunity by setting up factories there to reap the benefits of comprehensive infrastructure and production synergies from this unique cluster development for oil, petrochemical and specialty chemicals.
History
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