"Post-2027 KTX Boarding for Nonsan Training Center Enlistment and Visits" Honam Line High-Speed Project Passes Preliminary Feasibility Study

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Kim Hyewon] From 2027 onwards, it will be possible to use KTX to visit and enlist at Nonsan Training Center. The Honam Line (Gasu-won~Nonsan) high-speed project has passed the preliminary feasibility study (PFS).

Additionally, four projects including the establishment of a dedicated stockpile base for national critical minerals and the construction of first-phase public servant rental housing in Sejong City have been selected for the PFS.

On the 24th, Choi Sang-dae, Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance, held the '2022 3rd Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee' and deliberated and approved these agendas.

At the committee meeting, the feasibility results of four projects, which underwent economic analysis by the PFS executing institutions (KDI·Tax Research Institute) and comprehensive evaluation by the 'Fiscal Project Evaluation Subcommittee,' were approved. The Honam Line high-speed and Hwangryeong 3 Tunnel road construction project (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), Gunsan Port 2nd dredged soil disposal site construction project (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries), and Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center establishment project (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) all passed the PFS hurdle.

The Honam Line high-speed project aims to improve the poor alignment of the Honam Line section from Gasu-won to Nonsan Station, built in 1914 and now aged, and extend the current Yongsan-origin KTX, which terminates at Seodaejeon Station, to the new Yeonmudae Station. The travel time between Seodaejeon and Nonsan Station will be reduced by 13 minutes and 15 seconds. Furthermore, it will provide KTX usage opportunities (twice a day on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) for soldiers enlisting at Nonsan Training Center and visitors, and is expected to help alleviate traffic congestion around the training center. According to the PFS project plan, the total project cost is 719.2 billion KRW, and the project period is from 2020 to 2027.

The Hwangryeong 3 Tunnel road construction project involves building a 4.1 km four-lane road (including a 1.8 km tunnel and a 0.8 km underpass) connecting Sinrisamgeori in Yeonsan-dong, Yeonje-gu, Busan, to Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu. The new tunnel is expected to ease habitual traffic congestion.

Also, by creating a dredged soil disposal site at Gunsan Port, it is expected to secure adequate depth in the front channel of Gunsan Port, helping to prevent ship and human accidents.

The Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center, which serves as a comprehensive control tower providing climate change-related agricultural information and conducting technology R&D, currently scattered across multiple institutions such as the Rural Development Administration and the Korea Meteorological Administration, will be established in Haenam County by 2026.

The four projects whose feasibility was recognized this time will be promoted through procedures such as total project cost registration and management, and phased budget reflection.

For the second quarter of this year, four projects from four ministries including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Personnel Management were selected as PFS targets.

The first project is the construction of a dedicated base for stockpiling national critical minerals within the Saemangeum National Industrial Complex. The purpose is to stabilize the supply of minerals stockpiled in advance by the state in case of future critical mineral supply crises, thereby alleviating short-term supply imbalances and establishing industrial resource security.

Projects subject to PFS also include removing Songdo Island adjacent to Busan Port New Port and adding new port facilities on the site, as well as the Gwangyang industrial water supply project. Another project is the construction of small-sized (studio and two-room type) rental housing (515 units) in Sejong City, where housing demand is increasing, to solve the housing problems of non-homeowning public servants residing in Sejong City and support their living stability.

The four newly selected PFS target projects will undergo preliminary procedures such as selecting executing institutions and forming expert research teams, and are expected to begin the PFS investigation in earnest within 1 to 2 months.