Reflecting Residents' Opinions in Projects like 'Ingonghaebyeon'... Construction Starts This August
A resident briefing session on the detailed design plan for phases 1-2 of the waterfront project, which connects the lakes and waterways of Songdo International City in Incheon in a 'ㅁ'-shaped form, has concluded, and construction is expected to begin around August.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority announced on the 1st that it held a resident briefing session on the 31st to explain the key details of the detailed design for phases 1-2 of the waterfront project and to gather residents' opinions.
Phases 1-2 involve creating a 9.53 km-long waterway between the retention basins of Songdo District 6 and Aam.
During the briefing, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority addressed residents' questions and helped their understanding by focusing on the detailed design contents, which include the expansion of the Art Center, installation of waterfront stands, expansion of waterfront spaces, improvement of the landscape of the revetment walls, Sweet Beach, cannon and ground fountains, artificial palm trees, observatories, and photo zones.
In particular, the authority sought active cooperation from residents regarding the inconvenience caused by the two-year construction of detour roads due to dredging and bridge construction, which will be the first works carried out once the waterfront phases 1-2 project begins.
Residents attending the briefing showed great interest in the plans for parks and artificial beaches around the waterfront and also offered various ideas to revitalize the waterfront, such as musical fountains and attracting global brands.
Regarding residents' opinions that artificial beaches were excluded from the detailed design plan, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority decided to prepare various measures that attract many tourists and align with the status of Songdo International City through an 'activation service.'
The waterfront phases 1-2 project is scheduled to begin construction around August after completing the detailed design and administrative procedures such as construction technology review, with completion expected in 2026.
Previously, the authority created a 930 m-long waterway and waterfront space connecting the sea and the retention basin of Songdo District 6 as part of phase 1-1.
Phase 2 involves installing two sluice gates and one lock on a 5.7 km-long, 300 m-wide waterway in front of Solchan Park and Jack Nicklaus Golf Club, and developing the site to create waterfront tourism facilities.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority plans to establish a basic concept plan, change the development plan, and complete the basic design by next year, then start construction in 2025 through a technical proposal bidding method, aiming to complete it by 2027.
The Songdo waterfront project is being implemented in stages to improve water quality and provide disaster prevention functions by utilizing tidal differences (the difference between low and high tide sea levels) to introduce seawater, as Songdo is adjacent to the sea on three sides. The total length is 21.17 km, with a width ranging from 40 to 500 m, and the total project cost is 621.5 billion KRW.
Upon completion of the waterfront project, seawater of grade 2 to 3 quality, similar to that of the Incheon coastal sea, will circulate through the Songdo urban area for about 15 days. Additionally, in the event of heavy rainfall, it will secure a freshwater capacity of approximately 10 million tons up to a planned flood level of 3.5 m, helping to prevent flood damage.
The public briefing session for the 1-2 phase detailed design plan of Songdo Waterfront is being held at G Tower on the 30th. March 30, 2023 [Photo by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority]
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