Report Submitted to the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee Earlier This Month
Construction Issues Including Difficult Excavation, Large-scale Land Reclamation, and Uneven Settlement Also Highlighted
[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It was confirmed on the 24th that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the main ministry in charge of the 'Gadeokdo New Airport' project, submitted a report to the members of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee earlier this month stating that the construction budget for the new airport amounts to 28.6 trillion won.
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport met with members of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee and delivered an analysis report containing this information. The approximately 16-page report brought by the ministry included a section titled 'Feasibility Study of Gadeokdo New Airport in Busan.' In this section, the ministry pointed out problems within the new airport by detailing seven categories including safety, constructability, operability, and economic feasibility. Regarding the safety of Gadeok New Airport, the ministry expressed concerns that "the overlapping airspace of Jinhae Airfield and the complexity of Gimhae Airport's air traffic control operations significantly increase the risk of aviation safety accidents." It also stated, "Due to the operation of multiple airports, it is impossible to eliminate the risk of aircraft crashes on Dotaesan Mountain for domestic flights at Gimhae Airport, which contradicts the purpose of constructing a new airport in the Yeongnam region."
From the constructability perspective, the ministry noted, "Gadeokdo is located offshore, raising concerns about difficult construction, large-scale reclamation, and uneven subsidence." Regarding operability, it wrote, "Airlines have expressed that if only international flights are relocated, aircraft operation efficiency will decrease and passenger transfer routes will increase, making operations difficult." It added, "Airports such as Tokyo and Montreal, which relocated only international flights to outskirts, eventually switched to integrated operations due to operational failures," and "If the transfer system is poor, the status as a gateway airport is diminished."
The plan for Gadeok New Airport announced by Busan City involves opening only one runway for international flights while domestic flights remain at Gimhae Airport, which the ministry criticized as unrealistic. The ministry further stated that for Gadeokdo New Airport to truly become a 'Southeast Gateway Airport' as advocated by the Democratic Party of Korea, it must be equipped with international and domestic flights as well as military facilities. In this case, the project cost is estimated to reach 28.7 trillion won, not the 7.5 trillion won initially claimed by Busan City.
In the latter part of the report, the ministry also cited 'legal duties of public officials' as a reference. The ministry stated, "Not opposing the Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act while being aware of procedural issues may constitute dereliction of duty, and there are concerns about violation of the duty of sincerity (the obligation to perform duties faithfully to promote public interest and prevent disadvantages)," effectively expressing an opposing stance. In the review report submitted to the Special Act Subcommittee on the 19th, the ministry also expressed the opinion that "it is common to decide the location after reviewing multiple alternatives before enacting a special law for the airport."
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