Gyeongbuk Province Deputy Governor for Economy Hae-Seong Ha: "A Turning Point for Ulleungdo Tourism Industry"
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] On the 27th, Gyeongbuk Province held a groundbreaking ceremony for Ulleung Airport at Sadong Port, Ulleungdo, attended by Ha Dae-seong, Deputy Governor for Economy, Kim Sang-do, Director of Aviation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Lee Sang-il, Director of Busan Regional Aviation Administration, aiming to open the airport in 2025.
Ulleung Airport will serve small aircraft with fewer than 50 seats. With an investment of 665.1 billion KRW, the airport will feature a 1,200-meter runway and a passenger terminal.
The Ulleung Airport construction project began 40 years ago in 1981 when Gyeongbuk Province and Ulleung County proposed it to the government. It went through a preliminary feasibility study in 2013, basic plan announcement in 2015, basic design in 2017, and in May 2019, the airspace review between Pohang and Ulleung was completed along with the finalization of the total project cost.
Subsequently, through a basic design technical proposal bidding method, Daelim Industrial Consortium was selected as the qualified party for detailed design in December 2019. After completing the detailed design, the contract was signed in July this year.
Currently, the only means of transportation connecting Ulleungdo to the mainland is passenger ships, which are canceled about 100 days a year due to high waves. Especially during the winter when waves are high, 10,000 residents of Ulleung are trapped on the island, unable to come or go. The biggest problem is that emergency patients cannot receive timely treatment. Last year, there were 444 emergency patient transfers from Ulleungdo, with 467 emergency patients transported by helicopter or ship.
The construction of Ulleung Airport is expected to go beyond simply providing transportation convenience; it will improve the quality of life for local residents by enhancing medical care, education, and welfare, and provide various leisure activities for the public, according to Gyeongbuk Province.
Ha Dae-seong, Deputy Governor for Economy of Gyeongbuk Province, emphasized, "The groundbreaking ceremony for Ulleung Airport marks the start of a new era for tourism in Ulleung, and it will greatly help local residents with transportation services and emergency patient transfers. We will do our best to ensure the airport opens smoothly in 2025."
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