‘First Step’ for South Coast Island Highway with ‘Hansan Battle Bridge Construction’

The Namhaean Island Highway project in Gyeongnam Province is taking its first significant step forward.

On the 5th, Gyeongnam Province announced, "A green light has been given for the construction of Hansan Battle Bridge, a core axis of the Namhaean Island Highway project aimed at revitalizing marine tourism along the southern coast and establishing an international marine tourism hub."

According to the province, the Namhaean Island Highway is a large-scale maritime road connecting islands with a total length of 152 km, linking Yeosu in Jeollanam-do, Namhae, Tongyeong, Geoje, and Busan.

The first key project, Hansan Battle Bridge, is a 2.8 km long sea bridge connecting Donam-dong in Tongyeong and Hansan-myeon.

It is included in the National Road No. 5 project section, which connects Donam-dong in Tongyeong City and Dongbu-myeon in Geoje City, with a total length of 9.0 km and a total project cost of 635 billion KRW.

Kim Young-sam, Director of Transportation and Construction Bureau of Gyeongnam Province, is explaining the construction of Hansan Victory Bridge and the section of the Namhaean Island Highway project.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

So far, Gyeongnam Province has consistently proposed the construction of Hansan Battle Bridge to central government agencies to utilize the natural scenery of Hallyeohaesang and to create a marine tourism belt along the southern coast, where the history of the Hansan Battle is deeply rooted.

As a result, in June 2021, the starting point of National Road No. 5 was changed from Yeonpo-myeon in Geoje to Donam-dong in Tongyeong, passing through the Hansan Battle Bridge section.

During the 2022 presidential election, the construction project of a sea connection bridge between Geoje, Hansando, and Tongyeong, including the Hansan Battle Bridge section, was included in President Yoon Suk-yeol’s campaign pledges for the Gyeongnam region and was also selected as a pledge project for Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, in the 8th local government term.

On March 31, President Yoon stated, "I will not forget the promise made to the citizens of Tongyeong and the people of Gyeongnam," and added, "I will also take good care of the construction of Hansan Battle Bridge."

Regarding this, Governor Park instructed on the 3rd, "Actively negotiate with central government agencies to exempt the preliminary feasibility study so that the Hansan Battle Bridge can be promoted quickly."

Gyeongnam Province secured a budget of 300 million KRW in July 2022 and has been proactively reviewing and preparing the necessity and feasibility of major local projects, including Hansan Battle Bridge, since the end of last year.

They plan to maximize the effect of social infrastructure construction by reflecting many projects in the demand survey for the establishment of the 6th National Road Construction Plan, which the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has been implementing since February this year, and strive to have the Hansan Battle Bridge construction project exempted from the preliminary feasibility study.

They will continue to propose that the Namhaean Island Highway, which includes Hansan Battle Bridge and connects Donam-dong in Tongyeong to Saryangdo and Changseon-myeon in Namhae with a length of 43 km, be included in National Road No. 5.

Kim Young-sam, Director of the Transportation and Construction Bureau, said, "Once the project is completed, it will create the largest marine tourism hub in Northeast Asia, where the natural scenery and history of the southern coast harmonize," adding, "The revitalization of the Namhaean tourism belt will secure new growth engines for the local era through new investments in the tourism industry and job creation, and it will also help respond to local extinction."