Haenam-gun Proposes Early Completion of Gwangju-Wando Expressway

Exploring Concurrent Implementation of Stage 2 Section with Stage 1

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, has proposed the early commencement of the second phase of the Gwangju-Wando Expressway project to expedite its progress.

According to the county on the 16th, a report meeting was held on the 15th to identify national road budget projects for next year, reviewing the status of SOC infrastructure development including the construction of the Gwangju-Wando Expressway, and decided to focus all efforts on supporting the smooth implementation of foundational projects that will serve as long-term drivers of regional development.

Haenam-gun Road Network
Photo by Haenam-gun

County Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan stated, “Since the construction period for the first phase of the expressway is expected to be extended, we will actively seek ways to shorten the construction period by exploring parallel implementation plans through the early commencement of the second phase, aiming to open the expressway as soon as possible.”

The expressway project connecting Gwangju, Naju, Yeongam, Gangjin, Haenam, and Wando spans a total length of 88.61 km. It involves constructing a four-lane expressway at an estimated cost of approximately 3.4 trillion KRW, divided into the first phase from Byeokjin-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju to Seongjeon, Gangjin (51.11 km), and the second phase from Jakcheon, Gangjin to Bukpyeong, Haenam (37.5 km).

The second phase, requiring a budget of 1.7313 trillion KRW, was selected as a ‘priority project’ in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s first five-year expressway plan last year. This selection makes it possible to commence the second phase before the completion of the first phase, signaling a green light for the early completion of the expressway.

The first phase, originally scheduled for completion in 2024, currently has a completion rate of 70%. However, the discovery of relics in the Naju section recently led to a route change, extending the construction period by about two years.

While the first phase project has been extended, the county is continuously consulting with Jeollanam-do to enable the second phase, newly prioritized, to proceed concurrently with the first phase.

In particular, the county is actively proposing the construction of an expressway section from Namchang, Haenam to Ttangkkeut, spanning 14.4 km, as an extension of the second phase expressway plan.

Through the third phase plan, scheduled from 2026 to 2030, it is expected that a symbolic road network for balanced regional development will be completed, enhancing transportation accessibility to Ttangkkeut, the southernmost point of the country, and improving expressway access in Jeonnam, which currently ranks among the lowest nationwide.

In Haenam-gun, visible results of large-scale SOC infrastructure development are emerging, including the opening of the Solarsido access road last year, the scheduled opening of the Boseong-Haenam-Imseong railway in 2025, and the opening of the National Road 77 connecting road in 2027.

The county is actively urging central government ministries on the necessity of early expressway opening in response to rapidly changing local conditions such as increasing tourism demand in the southwestern region due to the activation of the Solarsido enterprise city, the establishment of the National Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center, and logistics improvements following increased online and offline consumption of agricultural and marine specialty products after COVID-19.

Governor Myeong Hyun-gwan said, “Recently, Haenam-gun has accelerated the promotion of various large-scale projects, but the lack of proper functioning of infrastructure such as SOC has remained an obstacle to regional development. With the construction of the expressway expected to give wings to various key initiatives, we will do our best to ensure smooth project implementation and inclusion in the third construction plan.”