LH 29.5% Burden... Possibility of Increase from Estimated Figure
Mayor Lee: "Agreement to be Formalized Early Next Year"
Yongin City in Gyeonggi Province and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) have agreed to share the project costs for the new Dongbaek IC (tentative name) on the Yeongdong Expressway based on the total project cost at the time of completion, rather than on estimated costs. Considering inflation, rising material costs, and labor costs, the city expects LH's share to be higher than the current estimate.
Yongin City announced on the 6th that it plans to formalize a detailed agreement with LH early next year, including the cost-sharing ratio for the Dongbaek IC construction project and the timing of payment.
The establishment of Dongbaek IC is part of traffic measures related to the public-supported private rental housing district (Eonnam District) project underway on the former site of the Police University in Eonnam and Changdeok-dong, Giheung-gu, Yongin. Previously, LH, the project implementer, agreed to bear 29.5% of the construction costs for Dongbaek IC in response to the city's traffic improvement demands. The remaining 70.5% will be borne by the city.
The current agreement aims to clarify the method for calculating LH's share. Since the city must pay the entire project cost upfront to the Korea Expressway Corporation, the project trustee, before the IC construction begins, the agreement will specify when and how the city will receive LH's share, thereby giving it legal effect, according to the city's policy.
The city plans to start construction in 2027 after detailed design and land compensation processes and complete the project by 2029. The total project cost is estimated at 113.7 billion KRW. Based on the cost-sharing ratio, LH's share is about 33.6 billion KRW. However, the city anticipates that the total project cost at completion will increase due to inflation and rising compensation costs.
Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, stated, "If the total project cost is used as the basis, the absolute amount LH must bear could be higher than the estimate," adding, "We will proceed with the project without delay to ensure the IC opens as planned in 2029."
To this end, the city has secured 300 million KRW for the current detailed design and included the remaining 2.49 billion KRW in next year's main budget proposal. The city also plans to sign a business agreement with the Korea Expressway Corporation to expedite the IC installation project.
The Eonnam District development project involves creating a public-supported private rental housing promotion district on the 904,921㎡ former Police University site. Although the district was designated in December 2016, progress stalled for eight years due to controversy over insufficient traffic measures relative to the planned 6,626 housing units.
Since the launch of the 8th municipal administration, the city has accelerated the project by negotiating with LH to reduce the number of housing units by 20% from the original plan to 5,400 units and agreeing that LH will bear 29.5% of the Dongbaek IC installation costs.
The city and LH have also agreed to establish and expand six road networks, including improvements to the Police University Intersection and Kkotme Intersection.
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