Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Reflects Saemangeum International Airport Airspace Reduction Plan in 6th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan (Draft)
[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] The groundbreaking and opening of Saemangeum International Airport are expected to be expedited.
This is because the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reflected a plan to shorten the construction period of Saemangeum International Airport in the 6th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan (draft), and the Ministry of Economy and Finance also expressed its intention to actively support the budget necessary for the construction of Saemangeum Airport.
According to Jeonbuk Province on the 5th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport included in the '6th Comprehensive Airport Development Plan (draft) (2021-2025)' a commitment to actively review measures to shorten the construction period of Saemangeum International Airport.
This is regarded as the result of continuous proposals by Jeonbuk Province and local political circles since the exemption from the preliminary feasibility study in 2019, to advance the timing of Saemangeum International Airport by applying a turnkey method that performs design and construction simultaneously as a follow-up measure.
Above all, Governor Song Ha-jin has frequently visited the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to maintain continuous communication with former and current ministers Kim Hyun-mi and Noh Hyung-wook, emphasizing the validity and necessity of early construction of Saemangeum International Airport.
The reflected contents include △ actively reviewing measures to shorten the construction period for timely completion △ contributing to regional development activation linked with the Saemangeum development plan △ expanding facility scale and preparing layout plans to handle air demand within the region △ ensuring smooth implementation of detailed development plans and linked transportation networks (Saemangeum-Jeonju Expressway, east-west and north-south roads, Saemangeum Port railway, Saemangeum Port, etc.).
Jeonbuk Province expects that if the Saemangeum International Airport promotion method is applied as a turnkey method performing design and construction simultaneously, the design period can be shortened, allowing groundbreaking in the second half of 2022 and opening in 2028, advancing the opening by more than one year compared to the original Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plan.
Additionally, at the budget consultation meeting with the Honam and Jeju regions held at Jeonnam Provincial Office on the 4th, Ando-geol, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, expressed a policy to support next year's budget for Jeonbuk's pending projects including Saemangeum International Airport, which also sheds a bright light on the project.
Governor Song Ha-jin said, "The project promotion method will be decided after the completion of the current basic plan establishment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's review of the bidding method for large-scale construction," adding, "We will continue to work with the political circles to ensure that the construction period shortening plan (turnkey ordering) is finally realized."
Meanwhile, Saemangeum International Airport was included in the 2019 preliminary feasibility exemption projects and is currently undergoing basic plan establishment and strategic environmental impact assessment after going through 'pre-feasibility study research' and 'project plan adequacy review.'
The basic plan under preparation is reviewing changes to significantly increase the total building area, including an increase of one aircraft parking stand (from 4 to 5), passenger terminal, and parking lot capacity compared to the 2019 project adequacy review.
Along with this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is reportedly planning to designate the airport area based on a 3,200m runway to allow the operation of E-class large aircraft, considering future expansion.
Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr
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