[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The 'E-commerce Cluster' at Incheon Port Aam Logistics Complex 2, established to concentrate domestic export-import e-commerce companies and foster the industry, is expected to begin operations in the first half of 2023.
Incheon Port Authority announced on the 26th that it recruited private proposal companies for the Incheon Port e-commerce cluster development project last month, aiming to start operations in the first half of 2023, and is currently reviewing tenant qualifications and the appropriateness of business models.
The authority plans to conduct preliminary consultations with companies starting next month, and based on the agreed matters, will accept initial proposals and award additional points at the final evaluation committee if the business is deemed eligible.
Subsequently, in early January next year, a third-party announcement will be made under the same criteria as the initial proposal submission companies. If there are third-party proposals, they will be evaluated; if not, the final tenant companies will be selected through deliberation and resolution by the Port Committee.
The Incheon Port 'E-commerce Cluster' is a project to develop a port specialized in e-commerce by leveraging Incheon Port's geographical advantages and logistics infrastructure in response to the growth of the global e-commerce market. The project gained momentum as Aam Logistics Complex 2 was designated as a comprehensive bonded zone and an e-commerce specialized zone by the Korea Customs Service and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in June and August of this year, respectively.
The 'Comprehensive Bonded Zone' is a system that allows foreign goods to be brought in without paying customs duties or other taxes and to perform comprehensive bonded functions in the same location. Aam Logistics Complex 2 is the first single port area nationwide to be designated as such.
Companies residing in the comprehensive bonded zone are exempt from customs duties when importing cargo and exporting products, and there are no restrictions on cargo storage periods or bonded warehouse operation periods, which will significantly enhance the price and logistics competitiveness of tenant companies in the future.
The 'Specialized Zone' was introduced in March this year to cluster and foster similar industries according to port characteristics among nationwide port hinterlands. The e-commerce specialized zone is the second in the country following Incheon Port's cold chain specialized zone.
Unlike existing hinterlands, specialized zones allow strategic company attraction through proposal projects or negotiated contracts instead of open competitive bidding. The evaluation method also shifts focus from past performance to future investment potential for creating specialized cargo, enabling focused attraction of promising companies specialized in e-commerce.
Meanwhile, the authority plans to directly build a 'Smart Logistics Center' equipped with advanced IT infrastructure specialized for e-commerce and lease it to startup companies at low costs to foster it as a logistics incubating center.
This plan aims to alleviate the investment burden of small and medium-sized enterprises that face difficulties in entering hinterlands and securing logistics centers due to high initial facility investment costs, expanding business participation opportunities by switching from land lease to building lease methods, thereby promoting qualitative and quantitative growth of promising logistics companies.
The e-commerce industry is expected to bring various ripple effects such as job creation, logistics cost reduction, and cargo volume generation, contributing to regional economic development by enabling high value-added logistics activation depending on cargo characteristics. The authority expects that the Incheon Port 'E-commerce Cluster' will attract approximately 358.2 billion KRW in private investment, create about 515 jobs, and generate an annual cargo volume of about 50,000 TEU.
An official from Incheon Port Authority stated, "Sea freight offers a 76% logistics cost reduction compared to air freight, and due to changes in consumer purchasing patterns, demand for sea transport is expected to increase significantly in the future," adding, "We will develop it into the nation's top maritime e-commerce specialized complex through cooperation with related organizations and company agglomeration."
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