LH, Smooth Progress in Early Construction of Wide-Area Transportation in 3rd New Towns... "16 Months Ahead of 2nd Phase in Establishing Measures"

Announcement of Step-by-Step Progress on 'Seongyotong Then Move-In'
Connected to Downtown Seoul Within 30 Minutes via Railway Network

The government has finalized the designation of districts and the establishment of metropolitan transportation measures for the 3rd generation new towns, including Hanam Gyosan and Namyangju Wangsuk. The period taken to establish these measures averaged 11 months, with Hanam Gyosan taking 7 months and Namyangju Wangsuk 15 months. This is more than 16 months faster compared to the establishment period for metropolitan transportation measures in the 2nd generation new towns such as Seongnam Pangyo and Gimpo Hangang.

In particular, the government announced plans to introduce railway lines such as the extension of Subway Line 3 and Line 9, and the addition of new GTX stations within the 3rd generation new town project areas, aiming to connect to downtown Seoul within 30 minutes through these rail networks.

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) held a "Briefing on the Direction for Establishing a Pre-Transportation System in New Towns and CEO Meeting" at its headquarters in Jinju, Gyeongnam, on the 18th. They announced the progress of phased strategies, including compliance checks on the 'pre-transportation, post-occupancy' policy for the 3rd phase new towns and shortening the project duration.
[Photo by LH]

Finalization of Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Measures for 3rd Generation New Towns

Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) held a 'Briefing on the Direction for Establishing a Pre-Transportation System in New Towns and CEO Meeting' at its headquarters in Jinju, Gyeongnam on the 18th, announcing the progress of phased strategies such as implementation checks on the ‘pre-transportation before residence’ policy and shortening project periods for the 3rd generation new towns.

At the briefing, Kwon Hye-jin, Deputy Director of the Pre-Transportation Planning Department at LH’s Residential Innovation Office, stated, “From the initial site announcement stage, the 3rd generation new towns including Hanam Gyosan and Namyangju Wangsuk proactively prepared transportation improvement measures and commenced the establishment of metropolitan transportation measures simultaneously with district designation, advancing the period required to finalize these measures by more than 16 months on average.”

Specifically, the period from district designation to finalization of metropolitan transportation measures was 7 months for Hanam Gyosan and 15 months for Namyangju Wangsuk, averaging 11 months. Previously, the 2nd generation new towns took an average of 27 months, with Seongnam Pangyo taking 25 months and Gimpo Hangang 28 months to finalize metropolitan transportation measures.

In particular, LH announced that the core railway transportation measures of the ‘pre-transportation before residence’ plan for the 3rd generation new towns have been completed. These include the extension of Line 9 and Byeollae Line in Namyangju Wangsuk, extension of Line 3 in Hanam Gyosan, direct connection of Goyang Line and Eunpyeong Line in Goyang Changneung, and S-BRT (Changwon Bus Rapid Transit) linked to Incheon Gyeyang and Bucheon Daejang railway stations.

The GTX routes have also been finalized. GTX-B line will be newly established in Namyangju Wangsuk, and GTX-A line will be introduced in Goyang Changneung.

LH explained that to expedite railway projects, they improved the previous sequential process?where metropolitan transportation measures were established first, followed by incorporation into higher-level plans and then preliminary feasibility studies?by conducting these steps concurrently, significantly shortening the project period.

Deputy Director Kwon said, “We are currently establishing the basic plans for railway projects reflected in the 3rd generation new towns and will actively participate in project plan reviews with local governments such as Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to ensure early opening.”

LH Proactively Reflects Initial Moving-in Costs

To realize the ‘pre-transportation before residence’ policy in the 3rd generation new towns, LH decided to proactively reflect costs for public transportation measures at the early stages of moving in, recognizing that sufficient bus routes are difficult to operate initially due to low demand.

They plan to link and review the phased moving-in of new towns and the sequential opening of transportation facilities to finalize the bus operation plan.

Additionally, LH intends to strengthen project execution by establishing a company-wide metropolitan transportation implementation system called the ‘Pre-Transportation Council.’

First, to promote metropolitan transportation facility projects and strengthen accountability, a ‘1:1 Matching Dedicated Project System’ between headquarters and regional office personnel for each route has been implemented, along with a comprehensive management and inspection system for project progress.

Furthermore, LH plans to actively utilize a cooperative and coordination-type governance system involving various stakeholders such as project implementers and local governments to prevent project delays caused by conflicts of interest.

LH President Lee Han-jun stated, “For the 3rd generation new towns and future projects, we will do our best to complete infrastructure before residents move in under the principle of pre-transportation before residence.”