Recent Seoul City Implementation Plan Approval Notice
District Mayor Requests "Proactive Cooperation from City Council and Seoul City"
Gangdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soo-hee) announced on the 8th that the "Escalator Installation Project at Exit 2 of Gil-dong Station on Subway Line 5," a long-awaited project by Gil-dong residents, has recently received approval for the implementation plan from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, making the start of construction imminent.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Gangdong District Mayor Lee Soo-hee are conducting an on-site inspection at Gildong Station. Provided by Gangdong District.
Gil-dong Station on Subway Line 5 is used by about 15,000 citizens daily, but there is no escalator connecting the underground first-floor concourse to the ground-level exit. In particular, exits 2 and 3 can only be accessed by stairs to the surface, causing serious inconvenience for transportation-vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, pregnant women, and the elderly.
In this regard, the district has been promoting the escalator installation project at Exit 2 of Gil-dong Station, a convenience facility installation project with a total budget of 9.85 billion KRW, to improve the convenience of using Gil-dong Station. The district has actively expressed the necessity of installing escalators to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metro and has continuously cooperated with related agencies.
Mayor Lee Soo-hee visited Gil-dong Station in July last year to listen to residents' opinions and conduct an on-site inspection, emphasizing the need for escalator installation to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and requesting active support from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
As a result of these efforts, the escalator installation project at Exit 2 of Gil-dong Station passed the Seoul Metropolitan Government's investment review in October last year, and 3 billion KRW of the construction cost was allocated from the Seoul city budget. This year, after going through administrative procedures such as changing urban planning facilities to railway stations, consultations with the Central Land Acquisition Committee, underground safety evaluations, and public notice for residents' opinions, the Seoul Metropolitan Government approved the implementation plan on the 31st of last month.
With this implementation plan approval, only a few steps remain before the start of construction for the escalator installation project at Exit 2 of Gil-dong Station, including land acquisition of private property and related compensation work and other administrative procedures.
However, since the convenience facility installation project, including escalators, can only begin after securing the full construction cost, additional city budget allocation of 6.6 billion KRW for the remaining project cost is essential for the escalator installation project at Exit 2 of Gil-dong Station to start construction as planned next year and be completed in 2027.
Gangdong-gu stated that to expedite the project, it is actively cooperating with administrative tasks such as land compensation and is strongly requesting the Seoul Metropolitan Council and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to recognize the necessity and urgency of securing project funds.
Mayor Lee Soo-hee said, "The residents' voices hoping for the escalator installation at Gil-dong Station as soon as possible are very strong," adding, "We will spare no administrative effort for the prompt start of construction and request proactive cooperation from related organizations such as the Seoul Metropolitan Council, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Seoul Metro."
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