Ongjin-gun, Incheon PAV Consortium and 7 Others Sign Business Agreement
Application for Jawoldo Special Free Zone Contest... Announcement in November
Incheon City applied for the PAV Special Free Zone contest with a maritime area near Jawoldo, Ongjin-gun. [Provided by Incheon City]
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Incheon City and Ongjin County are accelerating efforts to establish a demonstration center for the future personal transportation device PAV (Personal Air Vehicle) and to designate a PAV special free zone.
On the 21st, the city announced that it signed a 'Incheon PAV Demonstration Support Center Establishment Business Agreement' with nine organizations including Ongjin County, Incheon Technopark, Incheon PAV Consortium, Incheon Port Authority, Incheon Tourism Organization, and Korea Industrial Complex Corporation Incheon Headquarters.
This agreement marks the starting signal for the project through mutual cooperation among related organizations and companies ahead of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's designation of the 'PAV Special Free Zone' scheduled for November.
Among the PAVs being developed domestically, the Incheon PAV Consortium is the most advanced, and Incheon City, in cooperation with Ongjin County, has applied for a maritime area near Jawoldo Island in the special free zone contest last June.
If designated as a special free zone, conveniences such as safety certification, flight approval, special airworthiness certification (aircraft safety certification) under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and radio certification from the Ministry of Science and ICT will be provided, allowing free demonstration and commercialization.
The PAV project site, Jawoldo Island, has no obstructions around it, with Deokjeokdo Island to the south, Yeongjongdo and the Incheon area to the north, and the sea in front of Jawoldo, Seungbongdo, Ijakdo, and even the sea in front of Taean to the east.
It also has natural environments such as sea breeze, sea fog, mountains, and coastline, making it an optimal location for the PAV demonstration support center, raising expectations for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's designation of the special free zone.
A bird's-eye view of the human and material resource transfer using PAV planned by Incheon Port Authority [Provided by Incheon City]
Incheon City plans to promote demonstration projects aiming for commercialization in 2025, starting with the development test project of the Jawoldo~Deokjeokdo~Ijakdo route in 2022, followed by human and material transport linked with Incheon Port Authority in 2023, and island travel route development with Incheon Tourism Organization in 2024.
The city is also considering establishing a 'PAV Convergence Cluster Complex' for future PAV commercialization. The plan is to foster related industries by transforming Incheon's automobile industry, which has suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, into the PAV industry to secure sustainable and stable jobs.
Ongjin County also plans to promote future mobility-related research and development and an astronomical park project based on the business area around the PAV demonstration center if Jawoldo is designated as a special free zone, and to foster three-dimensional diverse tourism industries utilizing the natural scenery of the islands.
Mayor Park Namchun stated, "The agreement among related organizations and companies such as Ongjin County is expected to advance the technological competitiveness for PAV commercialization to the next level, and we will actively support the designation as a special free zone." He added, "We plan to focus on fostering the PAV industry as a food industry of Incheon leading the future transportation revolution era."
PAV is a three-dimensional mobility means that uses electric power such as motors and batteries to transport people or cargo in urban airspace. It is a new industry that integrates various technologies and industries such as aviation, automobiles, information and communication technology (ICT), and artificial intelligence (AI), providing innovative transportation means.
According to the American investment bank Morgan Stanley, the global potential market size for PAV is expected to reach about $1.5 trillion (approximately 1,800 trillion KRW) by 2040.
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