Hanwha Construction Consortium Challenges 'Jamsil MICE Complex Space Project'

HDC Group, Hana Financial Investment, and Shinhan Bank Consortium
Project Cost 2.1672 Trillion KRW... Sports and MICE Complex Space

Aerial view of the site for the Jamsil Sports and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) complex private investment project

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is advancing the private investment project to create the Jamsil Sports and MICE Complex within the Seoul International Exchange Complex District. A consortium named Seoul Smart MICE Park, led by Hanwha Group (39%) along with HDC Group (20%), Hana Financial Investment & Shinhan Bank, has completed the submission of the second-stage evaluation documents.

The Hanwha consortium expressed its ambition to develop the Jamsil MICE complex project not merely as a 'second COEX' construction but as a new center of Seoul and a future-oriented complex space representing South Korea. They plan to maximize public benefits by integrating creative design and future technologies while emphasizing carbon neutrality and social value creation.

Hanwha Group and HDC Group affiliates will act not as simple contractors seeking construction profits but as the main operators holding the largest shares, participating for 40 years to coordinate responsible management. Additionally, the Hanwha consortium structured over half of the operating investor shares, which are key to successful management, to actively encourage participation from competitive partner companies.

Industry experts expect high synergy from the consortium formed by Hanwha Engineering & Construction and HDC Hyundai Development Company, both regarded as the top developers in complex and private investment development projects domestically. Currently, Hanwha E&C is leading large-scale complex development projects such as the northern Seoul Station area (approximately KRW 2 trillion), Daejeon Station area (approximately KRW 1 trillion), and Suseo Station transfer center (approximately KRW 1.2 trillion).

HDC Hyundai Development Company is also enhancing its status through landmark complex development projects like the Kwangwoon University Station area development, Yongsan Railroad Hospital site development, and Cheongna Medical Complex Town. Furthermore, to secure large-scale financing, major investment banks Hana Financial Investment and Shinhan Bank have stepped in to ensure project stability.

The Jamsil MICE complex project is designed to maximize private sector creativity and efficiency by not awarding preferential points to initial proposers. Therefore, each consortium will compete solely based on the competitiveness of their second-stage business plans.

The biggest differentiator of the Hanwha consortium is that technology operators possessing future technologies will directly invest and participate responsibly. Leading this is Hanwha Systems, a defense electronics system & ICT smart solutions convergence company, along with Nexon, which boasts unmatched competitiveness in gaming and character business, and Megazone, a leader in digital innovation using cloud technology, among others, showcasing future technologies.

Through this, they plan to implement a smart complex in Jamsil featuring a metaverse that integrates online and offline, performances and exhibitions that transcend virtual and reality, an integrated platform connecting facilities organically, autonomous shuttles, and urban air mobility (UAM).

The design will also be distinctive. Populous, a U.S.-based global No.1 design and consulting firm in sports stadiums, arenas, and MICE sectors, is participating in the Hanwha consortium. Populous is famous for designing or renovating over 20 Major League Baseball stadiums, including the iconic Yankee Stadium. The Hanwha consortium plans to collaborate with Populous to complete world-class designs for the Jamsil Baseball Stadium, convention facilities, and multipurpose sports facilities within the Jamsil MICE complex.

Moreover, the Hanwha consortium is promoting a carbon-neutral complex with a renewable energy self-sufficiency rate more than twice the mandatory ratio to realize a sustainable city. In addition to traditional renewable energies like solar power, they will consolidate the technological capabilities of Hanwha Group’s hydrogen-related affiliates, including Hanwha Solutions Q CELLS division, Advanced Materials division, and Hanwha Aerospace, to establish an urban hydrogen value chain encompassing hydrogen production, transportation, compression storage, power generation, and hydrogen refueling.

Meanwhile, the Jamsil Sports and MICE Complex private investment project will be carried out on a site of 357,576㎡ excluding Jamsil Sports Complex and some surrounding areas in Songpa-gu, Seoul, with a total floor area exceeding 880,000㎡. The project includes convention facilities three times the size of COEX, a baseball stadium with approximately 35,000 seats, a sports complex with about 11,000 seats, swimming pools, and water leisure facilities.

Additionally, the project includes ancillary facilities such as a hotel with around 900 rooms, cultural and commercial facilities, and super high-rise office buildings, making it a mega-scale project combining private complex development and private investment. The project cost is KRW 2.1672 trillion, fully funded by the private sector, which will recover the investment through 40 years of operation under a BTO (Build-Transfer-Operate) model.