BPA Attracts ‘BEF Smart Farm No. 6’ Utilizing Idle Port Land

BEF Smart Farm Branch 6 'Byeolbit Farm' Creation Bird's-eye View.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan Port Authority (BPA) has attracted an operator for a new business model called ‘Marine Smart Farm,’ utilizing idle port land as part of the ‘Busan Economic Vitalization Support Fund (BEF)’ project.

BEF stands for Busan Embracement Fund for Economic Vitalization, a fund established by nine public institutions in the Busan area to foster the local industrial ecosystem and support the sustainable growth of the social economy.

The participating institutions include the Korea Technology Finance Corporation, Busan Urban Corporation, Busan Port Authority, Korea Housing & Urban Guarantee Corporation, Korea Southern Power, Korea Securities Depository, Korea Asset Management Corporation, Korea Housing Finance Corporation, and Korea Ocean Business Corporation.

As a collaborating institution in BEF, BPA provided idle land?scrap land where port functions have ceased?to local social enterprises to increase the value and utilization of the idle sites.

The provided site is planned to operate as a smart farm facility, an urban agriculture installation.

The site for the smart farm is located at Yongho Pier in Nam-gu, Busan. The facility’s pier function was suspended in 2019 due to an accident where a foreign vessel collided with the Gwangandaegyo Bridge, and Nam-gu Office is currently developing and operating the waterfront park called ‘Yongho Starlight Park.’

The preliminary social enterprise ‘Dosinongsakkun’ received commercialization funds through the BEF project, completed the smart farm setup by November 2022, and plans to open it to citizens in December. The smart farm was named ‘Starlight Farm’ following a public naming contest among citizens.

At Starlight Farm, facilities repurposing refrigerated containers will be established to produce various crops such as low-temperature shiitake mushrooms and leafy vegetables, which are high value-added crops.

BPA plans to provide new attractions and food options to citizens visiting Yongho Starlight Park and ‘Starlight Farm,’ and will strive for mutual growth with the community through urban agriculture experiences, vocational training for socially vulnerable groups, and job creation.

Kang Jun-seok, BPA President, said, “Idle land within the port has been difficult to utilize compared to other sites, making it challenging to discover new business models. Taking the opportunity of attracting Starlight Farm, we will continuously discover new business models that can collaborate with various private companies and create an environment for co-growth.”

BPA and the nine public institutions in Busan are promoting the expansion of smart agriculture through BEF, encouraging production and distribution structures based on ESG innovative growth methods.

Over the past five years, the institutions have jointly raised 5.17 billion KRW to actively support social enterprises in Busan with financial aid, management consulting, talent development, and market expansion.

Since the end of 2022, the support scope has expanded from social enterprises and social ventures to include small and venture companies, aiming to strengthen co-growth with companies through private sector growth and innovation ecosystem support.