[Exclusive] Namsan Gondola Construction Company Finalized... Construction Starts in August

Design Evaluation Review for Shindong-A Construction Completed the Previous Day
Passed Both Technical Review and Design Evaluation After Submission
Starting with Lower Platform Construction... Kevin Manufacturer Scheduled for Second Half of the Year

Shindongah Construction has been finally selected as the contractor for the Namsan Gondola construction project promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. Earlier this month, the review of the basic design documents submitted by Shindongah Construction was completed, and Seoul plans to start the main construction beginning with the lower station construction in August.

According to Seoul City on the 26th, in the design evaluation review for the Namsan Gondola installation project held the previous afternoon, Shindongah Construction passed all stages of review including design documents by field and eligibility of the basic design, and was selected as the qualified contractor for detailed design.

Previously, Shindongah Construction was the sole bidder in the pre-qualification (PQ) for bidding held in March and submitted the basic design documents to Seoul City on the 3rd of this month. Seoul City also selected review committee members and consecutively held technical review meetings and design evaluation meetings based on the basic design documents for the main review. On the 22nd, Shindongah Construction directly presented the design explanation. During this meeting, detailed coordination on the construction schedule and other matters was also conducted with Seoul City.

With Shindongah Construction being selected as the contractor at the design evaluation meeting on the 25th, the Namsan Gondola construction project by Seoul City can now accelerate. Considering that a plan has been made to entrust the operation of the Namsan Gondola to the Seoul Facilities Corporation for public interest and maintenance, only the construction commencement procedures remain.

Going forward, Shindongah Construction will be responsible for installing the related infrastructure to allow 25 ten-passenger cabins to travel along the 800-meter route from Yejang Park (lower station), located 200 meters from Myeongdong Station, to the summit of Namsan (upper station). According to the plan, the lower station will be constructed inside Yejang Park with a total floor area of 1,515.3㎡ consisting of one basement floor and two above-ground floors, and the upper station at the Namsan summit will have a ground floor with a total floor area of 599㎡. Although the main contract is expected to be signed around November after the detailed design evaluation is completed, priority construction will begin in mid-August with the dismantling and construction of the lower station building.

Since Shindongah Construction has obtained the qualification as the project operator, the selection of the cabin manufacturer is also expected to take place within this year. Shindongah Construction has already been preparing a competitive bidding process targeting world-renowned gondola and cable car manufacturers for the production of the gondola cabins. Leading candidates include Poma from France and Doppelmayr from Austria, which manufacture and supply nearly 90% of gondolas and cable cars worldwide. Shindongah Construction plans to thoroughly review all matters including the space and distance where the Namsan Gondola will operate, its surroundings, impact, and safety.

However, advance payments during the cabin manufacturing and transportation process are expected to be a variable factor. Seoul City estimates that it will take 13 months just to manufacture and import the cabins and operational equipment materials from overseas. To ensure normal operation by February 2026, it is known that a plan to pay about half of the related project cost (14.5 billion KRW) in advance is necessary.

Administrative measures have also been prepared to prevent controversies over the use of profits during operation in advance. A regulation has been enacted to use profits generated from gondola operation exclusively for the Namsan ecological environment conservation project. This institutional basis allows the profits to be used only for the Namsan ecological environment conservation project, by establishing a separate Namsan ecological leisure account within the urban regeneration fund to separately manage and operate the income from gondola operation.