"Refusal to Disclose 'Do' GTX Plus B/C Values... Request for Government to Make a Rational Decision"
"Proposal to Consider Population and Industrial Concentration Beyond Mechanical Balance of National Railway Network"
Lee Sang-il, mayor of Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province, has requested the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the main government agency, to conduct a comparative economic evaluation of the 'Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railroad' and the 'Capital Region Express Train (GTX) Plus,' which have been controversial over project prioritization.
Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin, is requesting active cooperation from Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon for the successful promotion of the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railroad Project during a policy meeting held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 11th. Photo by Yongin City
Yongin City announced on the 25th that Mayor Lee sent a letter containing this request to Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The controversy over the priority between the two projects was triggered when Gyeonggi Province assigned the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railroad, jointly promoted by four local governments?Yongin, Suwon, Seongnam, and Hwaseong?a lower priority than the GTX Plus project promoted by Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon during the process of setting the priority for metropolitan railroad projects to be reflected in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's '5th National Railroad Network Construction Plan.'
The Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railroad is a line promoted by the four local governments to connect Seoul Sports Complex Station~Suseo Station~Seongnam Pangyo~Yongin Sinbong·Seongbok~Suwon Gwanggyo~Hwaseong Bongdam as an alternative to the extension of Subway Line 3. The GTX Plus project promoted by Gyeonggi Province envisions the establishment of new GTX G and H lines and the extension of the C line.
The letter reportedly requests the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to objectively and rigorously compare and evaluate the benefit-cost (B/C) ratios and other objective criteria of the two projects and make a rational judgment, according to the city.
In the letter, Mayor Lee stated, "At the beginning of this month, during the Gyeonggi Province-city/county policy meeting, I demanded Governor Kim to disclose the detailed B/C values of the GTX Plus project report, but the province has maintained its position that it cannot disclose them." Mayor Lee emphasized, "The answer is clear when comparing a project that costs 12.3 trillion won benefiting 490,000 people and one that costs 5.2 trillion won benefiting 1.38 million people."
Previously, the four local governments announced the Gyeonggi Southern Metropolitan Railroad promotion plan and disclosed that their own study showed a B/C value of 1.2. They also estimated the total project cost of this railroad network at 5.2 trillion won and the beneficiary population at 1.38 million. On the other hand, Gyeonggi Province, through a press release in April, estimated the GTX Plus project's beneficiaries at 490,000 and the total project cost at 12.3 trillion won.
In the letter, Mayor Lee also suggested that it would be desirable to move away from the mechanical balance that allows only three projects per metropolitan entity in the demand adequacy evaluation process of railroad projects and instead conduct a comprehensive review considering population and industrial concentration and the nation's future. He requested a meticulous evaluation considering factors such as regional population growth trends, the share in the national economy, and national future competitiveness to determine which railroad project is more reasonable and which region has greater railroad demand.
Mayor Lee stated, "The dominant public opinion among Gyeonggi residents is that three metropolitan railroad projects are far from sufficient for the most populous Gyeonggi Province," and added, "A comprehensive review is necessary to resolve the transportation inconvenience of Gyeonggi residents and to promote national economic development and strengthen national competitiveness."
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