Naju City Holds the 2nd Meeting of the Metropolitan Railroad Committee

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] On the 28th, Naju City, Jeollanam-do announced that it held the 2nd meeting of the Public-Private Joint Committee for the establishment of the metropolitan railway network between Gwangju and Naju, one of the five leading policy tasks, at the city hall on the 27th.

At the 2nd meeting, the optimal route plan for the construction of the metropolitan railway network was finalized, and cooperation plans with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Jeollanam-do were intensively discussed, aiming to reflect it in the 4th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan and to adopt it as a national election pledge.

The meeting was attended by eight committee members including co-chairmen Yang Bokwan and Jeong Jaesoo, former Korea Railroad Corporation Planning and Coordination Headquarters Director Min Younggwang, Professor Song Yena of the Department of Geography at Chonnam National University, and Researcher Jeon Hyunwoo of the Natural Science Research Institute at the University of Seoul.

About ten officials from the relevant departments, including Kim Yongok, Director of the General Affairs Bureau of Naju City and head of the Leading Policy Task Force, and Jeong Gwonsu, Director of the Safety City Construction Bureau, also participated in the discussions.

The construction of the metropolitan railway network between Gwangju and Naju is considered a key issue among Naju City's five leading policy tasks, alongside the ecological restoration of the Yeongsan River and the systematic restoration of Mahan history, which are being promoted for adoption as a national election pledge in the next presidential election.

The core goal is to promote the exchange of human and material resources through the linkage of metropolitan transportation networks connecting Gwangju and Naju and the formation of a single living and cultural belt, thereby creating a mutually beneficial development ecosystem that resolves population outflow, traffic congestion, and revitalizes the tourism industry.

The city is focusing its administrative efforts to reflect the metropolitan railway network between Gwangju and Naju in the ongoing research projects of the 4th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan and the 4th National Railway Network Construction Plan.

Through discussions on the day, the Metropolitan Railway Committee finally proposed a route plan for a total 32.6 km metropolitan railway network passing through “Sangmu Station - West Gwangju - Daechon - Nampyeong - Innovation City - Naju Station - Dongshin University - Noan Station - Pyeongdong Station.”

The committee agreed that “the route from Sangmu Station to Naju Station (27.6 km) should be prioritized as the first phase, and later, after reviewing urban development status and financial conditions, the section from ‘Naju Station - Dongshin University - Noan Station - Pyeongdong Station’ (5 km) should be separated as the second phase and constructed step-by-step to enhance project feasibility.”

The city plans to strengthen an organic cooperative system with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Jeollanam-do, and to secure momentum for the project by forming a broad civic promotion committee that includes central government agencies, local governments, academia, experts, and civic groups.

Mayor Kang Inkyu said, “The construction of the metropolitan railway network between Gwangju and Naju should be promoted as a national policy project to achieve regional balanced development and lay the foundation for a metropolitan economic zone as envisioned by the government,” and added, “We will concentrate all administrative power to ensure that this project is definitely reflected in the 4th Metropolitan Area Wide-area Transportation Implementation Plan.”