Old and dilapidated factories within the Namdong National Industrial Complex in Incheon will be transformed into youth-friendly spaces.
On the 21st, Incheon City announced that it was selected for the "Industrial Complex Old Factory Youth-Friendly Renewal Project" organized by the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation. Accordingly, the city will invest a total project cost of approximately 630 million KRW, including about 130 million KRW in private funds, to improve the exterior, green spaces, welfare, and working environment of 10 old factories within the Namdong Industrial Complex, creating youth-friendly spaces.
This project, launched for the first time this year, aims to enhance the competitiveness of industrial complexes and attract young workers by improving the internal and external environments of aging small and medium-sized enterprise factories into youth-friendly spaces.
The Namdong National Industrial Complex plays an economically important role, accounting for 38.8% of all industrial complex resident companies in Incheon, 54.6% of production, and 60.5% of employment. However, as it has been established for more than 30 years, the factories and infrastructure are aging; 96.2% of the companies are small enterprises with fewer than 50 employees, and 53.7% of the buildings are over 20 years old. Additionally, the average age of workers continues to rise, leading to a trend of young people avoiding employment there.
To address this, Incheon City has been promoting public-led improvements of industrial complex facilities such as industrial complex regeneration, creation of vibrant and beautiful streets, and improvement of industrial facility environments. However, recognizing the need for efforts from the companies themselves, this public contest project was initiated. Before applying for the contest, the city recruited participating companies and selected 10 sites (including 3 preliminary candidates).
With the goal of creating a "Youth-Friendly Industrial Space that Shines Even at Night," the city plans to maximize effects by linking with Incheon’s specialized projects such as industrial facility environment improvement and the I-lighting (nightscape improvement) project, focusing on improving the bleak and aging factory exteriors to enhance the industrial complex’s image. The city expects this project to increase worker satisfaction, attract young people, and foster a cultural industrial complex.
An official from Incheon City stated, "By improving old factories into pleasant workspaces infused with culture, we hope to increase youth employment rates within the industrial complex and resolve job mismatch issues."
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