On the 20th, Daegu City held an investment briefing session at the Fairmont Ambassador Seoul Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, to select the Special Purpose Company (SPC) for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport project.
At this investment briefing, Daegu City signed a "Donation and Grant Agreement," an essential procedure for being designated as the new airport project implementer, with the Ministry of National Defense.
Following the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s approval of the donation and grant project review in August, Daegu City secured the status of the actual implementer of the military airport relocation project through the agreement with the Ministry of National Defense, enabling the selection of the SPC to carry out the new airport construction and the development of the residual site in earnest.
According to the "New Airport Special Act" and related laws, the SPC must be a public institution holding more than 50% of the total shares, and the participating public institutions will form the SPC by inviting private companies through a public offering.
Accordingly, Daegu City plans to sign a new airport project agreement within this year with national public enterprises such as Korea Airports Corporation and local public enterprises such as Daegu Urban Corporation, and to establish the "(tentative name) TK New Airport Construction" within the first quarter of next year.
This investment briefing was the fourth event held this year, following those on May 31, June 21, and June 29. It attracted major domestic construction companies such as Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Samsung C&T, POSCO, Daewoo E&C, DL E&C, and Dongbu Construction, as well as financial institutions including KDB Industrial Bank, IBK Investment & Securities, NH-Amundi Asset Management, and Daegu Bank, and large corporations such as Samsung Electronics and Shinsegae.
These companies can participate in the SPC in various ways, including as Construction Investors (CI), Financial Investors (FI), and Strategic Investors (SI) in the new airport construction and residual site development projects.
Additionally, related government ministries such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, public institutions including Korea Airports Corporation, LH Corporation, Korea Expressway Corporation, Daegu Urban Development Corporation, Daegu Transportation Corporation, Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, as well as local lawmakers and city council members, attended, demonstrating high interest in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport.
At this briefing, Lee Jong-heon, Special Advisor for New Airport Construction of Daegu City, presented the progress since the June investment briefing, including the approval of the donation and grant project review and the results of the preliminary feasibility study for the civilian airport, as well as the current status of the new airport construction project and the development plan for the residual site to be established as the global future city "New K-2."
Jung Myung-seop, President of Daegu Urban Development Corporation, proposed measures to enhance project feasibility, such as linked development of the surrounding area of the former site (1.28 million pyeong), creation of a citizen participation fund based on blockchain digital cooperatives, division of construction sections through the formation of a grand consortium, and simultaneous groundbreaking to shorten the construction period. He also announced a rough plan for the public offering guidelines for future private participants in the SPC.
Currently, Daegu City is promoting the Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport construction, the largest project in its history, aiming for an opening in 2030. The area around the new airport will be developed into an Air City, advanced industrial complex, and air logistics complex, establishing a massive new airport economic zone that will serve as the cornerstone for the next 50 years of growth in Daegu and Gyeongbuk.
The 2.1 million pyeong residual site of K-2 Airport and the surrounding 1.28 million pyeong area will be developed into a tourism, commercial, and advanced industry hub through large-scale projects including world-class landmarks in the water city connected to the Kumho River, creating the global future city "New K-2" that surpasses Dubai and Singapore.
Mayor Hong Joon-pyo stated, "The Daegu-Gyeongbuk New Airport construction project is the first and largest project in Korea to integrate and relocate military and civilian airports." He added, "The enactment of a special law ensuring national compensation for the donation and grant difference guarantees the project's stability. Moreover, as the project feasibility has been objectively analyzed as sufficient through the linked development of the K-2 residual site and surrounding areas, we expect active participation from companies across various sectors."
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