Seong Sang-jin, Mayor of Seongnam City, is holding a press conference on the Baekhyeon MICE development project on the 28th.
The ‘Baekhyeon MICE Urban Development Project’ in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, with an investment of 6.2 trillion KRW, is set to be fully launched.
The Baekhyeon MICE project involves developing exhibition and convention facilities, mixed-use office buildings, office spaces, hotels, and parks on a 206,000㎡ site at 1 Jeongja-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam City. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2025, with completion targeted for the second half of 2030.
On the 28th, Seongnam Mayor Shin Sang-jin held a press conference at Seongnam City Hall to update on the Baekhyeon MICE project, stating, "The project implementer, ‘Seongnam MICE PFV (Project Finance Vehicle),’ has submitted the implementation plan approval application within the deadline," and added, "This project, which was once rumored to be in crisis, can now proceed normally."
Earlier, Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation signed a business agreement on September 27 with the Meritz Securities consortium (Meritz Securities and six other companies), which was selected as the preferred negotiation partner.
Subsequently, to ensure stable project progress, Seongnam City requested that the private sector add a joint liability clause stating ‘joint responsibility for the business agreement’ to the shareholders’ agreement, separate from the business agreement terms, which caused conflicts with the private parties. This led to rumors of a project crisis at one point.
Mayor Shin emphasized, "The consortium accepted Seongnam City’s request to add the joint liability clause," and stated, "The Baekhyeon MICE development project will become a representative case that maximizes Seongnam City’s interests over those of private developers."
He further explained, "Upon project completion, public contributions will include exhibition and convention facilities covering a total area of 120,000㎡, public support facilities covering 60,000㎡, the construction of an underground road on Baekhyeon-ro, three bridges connecting Sunaegyo Bridge, Korea Job World, and Baekhyeon-dong Cafe Street, expansion of surrounding roads, and a smart park."
Mayor Shin added, "The combined value of public contributions, land sale proceeds, and development profits amounts to 2.4 trillion KRW, which corresponds to about 38% of the total project cost of 6.2 trillion KRW."
He also noted, "The exhibition and convention facilities to be donated will first be donated by the implementer and managed for five years, ensuring that Seongnam City does not bear the initial operational deficits during the early stages."
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