A Road Opens Under the Sea from Gyeongsang-do to Jeolla-do... 20-Year Long-Awaited Project Namhae-Yeosu Undersea Tunnel Passes 'Preliminary Feasibility Study'

Completion in 2027 with 631.2 Billion Won, Reducing a Journey Over 1 Hour to Just 10 Minutes

Location map of the underwater tunnel from Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam to Yeosu-si, Jeonnam. [Image source=Gyeongsangnam-do]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] The long-cherished wish of Namhae-gun in Gyeongnam and Yeosu-si in Jeonnam has been realized. The 'Namhae-Yeosu Undersea Tunnel Project' has passed the preliminary feasibility study after more than 20 years of dreaming.

On the 24th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced that the Namhae-Yeosu Undersea Tunnel Project was included in the results of the '5th National Road and Local Road Construction 5-Year Plan (2021-2025) Batch Preliminary Feasibility Study.'

This project had failed to become a national project four times?in 2002, 2005, 2013, and 2016?due to a lack of economic feasibility in the preliminary feasibility studies.

The undersea tunnel will connect Seo-myeon, Namhae-gun, and Sangam-dong, Yeosu-si, with a length of 7.3 km (5.93 km undersea tunnel and 1.37 km connecting road), involving a massive investment of 631.2 billion KRW in national funds.

If opened as scheduled in 2027, a broad east-west transportation axis along the southern coast will be formed, and the existing travel time, which took at least 1 hour and 20 minutes, is expected to be reduced to just 10 minutes.

Residents of Namhae-gun will be able to use Yeosu’s airport and KTX within 20 minutes, and tourists visiting from the Seoul metropolitan area and across the country will be able to conveniently travel throughout the southern coast.

Jang Chung-nam, the governor of Namhae-gun, said, "This is another great achievement accomplished by the people of Namhae-gun," and added, "We will advance Namhae into a rural ecological tourism city with a population of 100,000."

The governor expressed his emotion, saying, "Many thought it was impossible, and despite more than 20 years of effort, there were reasons why it didn’t work, but the way for Namhae to survive was first the undersea tunnel, second and third the undersea tunnel."