20-hectare underground lab soon to be built in Singapore

It could house as many as 4,200 scientists and researchers.

A report by Bloomberg reveals that Singapore is planning a 20-hectare (49 acres) subterranean labyrinth that could house as many as 4,200 scientists and researchers in soundproof labs and data centers carved out of caves.

Bloomberg adds that that the city-state opened the first underground oil-storage facility in southeast Asia this month, freeing space three times the size of New York’s Grand Central Station for chemical manufacturing above ground. 

Bloomberg add that the project caps a 30-year effort to create a petrochemical hub. It began when officials merged seven offshore islets and then spent S$950 million ($749 million) to dig rock caverns that can hold enough liquid hydrocarbon to fill 600 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

JTC Corp commissioned a feasibility study on the project.