Private Park Special Project, Creation of Large-Scale Premium Parks in Urban Areas
600,000 Trees Planted in Urban Forests, Annual Absorption of 21 Tons of Fine Dust
Pohang City is making steady progress in the park development projects promoted as private park special projects to ensure the permanent preservation of parks and green spaces in the region and to improve the quality of life for its citizens.
The large-scale neighborhood parks in the urban area, Hwanho, Haksan, and Sangsaeng Parks (3 locations, total area of 2,073,425㎡), are being promoted as private park special projects with a large-scale private capital investment of 518.6 billion KRW.
In 2022, sequential groundbreaking took place for each park: Hwanho Neighborhood Park in May, Sangsaeng Neighborhood Park in August, and Haksan Neighborhood Park in November, and full-scale construction is currently underway.
Hwanho Neighborhood Park, a representative urban park located in the Buk-gu area of Pohang City including Hwanho, Duho, and Jangryang, is being developed into a large-scale premium park of 1.33 million㎡ by adding 770,000㎡ under the private park special project to the already established 560,000㎡ southern area where Spacewalk is located.
Main facilities include a botanical garden, central park, and a reading forest. The botanical garden will feature a variety of tree species, including the largest baobab trees and rare species such as Heukpansu, which are difficult to encounter elsewhere in Korea, allowing visitors to enjoy them year-round. The park is scheduled for completion in October this year.
Haksan Neighborhood Park, located in the Haksan-dong area of Buk-gu, Pohang City, will cover an area of 360,000㎡ and will feature major facilities such as a wide yard, mirror garden, and four-season garden. It is scheduled for completion in March next year.
Sangsaeng Neighborhood Park, being developed in the Daei-dong area of Nam-gu, Pohang City, is under construction with an area of 950,000㎡. It will provide various sports activity spaces including a national sports center, water plaza, and gallery plaza, and is scheduled for completion in September 2027.
The private park special project involves the private developer developing 30% of the park land into apartments or other uses, while the remaining 70% of green space is developed as a park and donated back to the city.
Pohang City is implementing the project by securing about 20% of the area for non-park facilities to enhance public interest and securing park facilities in about 80% of the space.
In particular, the park development will involve the planting of a total of 340,000 new trees: 130,000 in Hwanho Park, 65,000 in Haksan Park, and 145,000 in Sangsaeng Park. Combining existing preserved trees and newly planted ones under the private park special project, more than 600,000 urban forest trees will be established, which is expected to absorb 21 tons of fine dust annually.
Shin Gang-su, head of the Green City Project Group, said, “With the creation of a large-scale premium urban park featuring extensive new tree plantings and various themed park facilities, it is expected to become a key asset that enhances the quality of life for citizens and the brand power of the region by creating a pleasant residential environment.”
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