Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province (second from the left), is discussing investment attraction in Gyeonggi Province with Nam Sun-woo, CEO of ESR Kendal Square, on the 18th (local time).
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon has secured an investment worth 2.1 trillion KRW from a global logistics real estate company and a world-renowned testing and certification institution.
On the 18th (local time), Governor Kim signed an "Investment Cooperation Agreement for the Creation of an Eco-friendly Complex Logistics Complex Linked to New Industries" at the Korea International Trade Association Grand Conference Room in New York with Nam Sun-woo, CEO of ESR Kendall Square, and Jake Sewart, Executive Director of Warburg Pincus, the investment company of ESR Kendall Square.
According to the agreement, ESR Kendall Square will invest 2 trillion KRW by 2027 to build hydrogen logistics infrastructure, including a 990,000㎡ hydrogen refueling station in Yeoju City, and install solar power generation facilities utilizing parking lots and logistics center rooftops within the complex.
This site will be developed into an environmentally friendly logistics complex incorporating renewable energy, and Gyeonggi Province expects an economic ripple effect of 2.5 trillion KRW and the creation of over 7,700 jobs.
ESR Kendall Square will also establish a support fund for advanced industry companies (automation systems, AI, robotics, etc.) in the Yeoju area. Through industry-academic cooperation with local universities, it will provide testbed spaces, field learning, and job fairs.
This is part of Governor Kim’s plan for the development of eastern Gyeonggi.
ESR Kendall Square, established in 2014 as a joint venture with the global logistics real estate investor ESR, is the largest logistics investment platform in Korea based in the APAC region (China, Japan, Korea, Australia, India, etc.).
ESR Kendall Square submitted a letter of intent to invest in Gyeonggi Province when Governor Kim visited its New York headquarters in April last year, and through continuous cooperation with Gyeonggi Province, this led to concrete investment within a year and a half.
At the same venue, Governor Kim also signed a business agreement with UL Solutions, a leader in the safety science field, to establish a "Korea Advanced Automotive and Battery Testing Center."
The signing ceremony was attended by Todd James Dennison, Senior Vice President and Global Regional Head of UL Solutions, along with other headquarters executives.
UL Solutions will invest 100 billion KRW to establish an "Advanced Automotive and Battery Testing Center" in the Osong Foreign Investment Zone in Pyeongtaek City, building a specialized testing infrastructure for performance, reliability, and safety evaluation of advanced mobility, EV (electric vehicles), and ESS (energy storage system) dedicated batteries.
In May, Governor Kim visited UL Solutions’ Fremont testing center in California privately to hear about UL Solutions’ investment intentions in Korea.
In June this year, he actively promoted investment attraction by meeting Jennifer Scanlon, Chairwoman of UL Solutions, during her visit to Korea.
If this center is successfully established, Gyeonggi Province expects to support R&D and overseas certification acquisition for electric vehicle and battery-related companies in the province by utilizing various infrastructures of the global testing and certification institution, thereby further strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic mobility industry.
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