Namyangju-si Accelerates New City Hall Construction? "Preparing for Future 1 Million Mega City"

Mayor Joo Gwang-deok: "We Will Properly Establish the Direction for the New City Hall Construction and the Utilization Plan for Geumgok-dong Office"
Target Completion by December 2031... Basic Plan for Construction Scale and Method to Be Established in the Second Half of Next Year

Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Ju Gwang-deok) announced on the 11th that it will accelerate the promotion of the new city hall construction project to achieve the goal of completion by December 2031.

Namyangju City Hall view. Provided by Namyangju City

The ongoing "Feasibility Study and Basic Plan Service for the New City Hall" is expected to establish the basic plan, including the scale and method of construction, in the second half of next year when it concludes. Subsequently, administrative procedures such as feasibility review and investment examination through the Local Investment Analysis Center (LOMAC) will commence.

Namyangju City completed the purchase of the site for the new city hall, Lots 5 and 6 of the Dasan New Town public office site, in 2022, and has been raising funds for the new city hall construction exceeding 20 billion KRW annually since 2021. Approximately 85.6 billion KRW has been secured so far, and it is expected to reach 110 billion KRW by the second half of next year.

The current Geumgok-dong city hall in use was the Migum City Hall at the time of the 1995 integration of Namyangju County and Migum City. Since then, Namyangju has grown into a large city with a population of 740,000 and is anticipating becoming a megacity with a population of 1 million around 2035.

To respond to the increasingly diverse and growing administrative demands and to prepare for the upcoming elevation to a special city status, a suitable new city hall is urgently needed. Additionally, Geumgok-dong, where the current city hall is located, faces limitations in expansion due to its designation as a development-restricted area and cultural heritage protection zone.

Therefore, as stipulated in the ordinance for the establishment of administrative organizations at the time of integration, the city decided to build the new city hall in Dasan-dong, the site of the second city hall, and is steadily preparing accordingly. Currently, several administrative agencies are gathered there, and once the new city hall is established, it is expected to greatly enhance the convenience of administrative services for many residents.

Mayor Ju Gwang-deok of Namyangju said, "The construction of the new city hall is a century-long plan for the future of Namyangju and its citizens, so we will focus on continuous communication and gathering opinions from all sectors." He added, "Through the New City Hall Promotion Committee, we will jointly draw up blueprints such as construction direction and spatial composition, and concentrate administrative efforts to create a future-oriented city hall reflecting the characteristics of Namyangju."

Mayor Ju also stated, "We will promote the formation of a Geumgok-dong residents' council to prevent hollowing out of Geumgok-dong due to the relocation of the city hall." He emphasized, "We will actively reflect the opinions collected through this in the current Geumgok-dong city hall utilization plan and properly prepare practical measures to revitalize the commercial district while minimizing the impact on the Geumgok-dong community."

Meanwhile, the city has formed and is operating a new city hall construction task force led by the deputy mayor.