Proactive Advancement of the 'Gyeonggi Northern Region Grand Renovation Project'... 526.5 Billion KRW Invested in 4 Major Sectors

Expansion of Living Infrastructure, Relocation of Public Institutions, Improvement of Transportation Infrastructure, and Investment Attraction
Promotion of 8 Core Tasks in 4 Major Areas... Establishment of 'Innovative Public Hospitals' in Namyangju and Yangju
Investment of 142.5 Billion KRW in 25 Local Roads... Maintenance of 33 Local Rivers in the Northern Region Planned

Gyeonggi Province, which is promoting the ‘Northern Gyeonggi Grand Renovation Project,’ announced on the 5th that it will concentrate a total investment of 526.5 billion KRW this year on eight core tasks across four major areas: expanding living infrastructure, relocating public institutions, improving transportation infrastructure, and attracting investment and easing regulations.

Major Railway Network Plan for Northern Gyeonggi. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

First, as the initial task for expanding living infrastructure, ‘innovative public hospitals’ will be established in Namyangju and Yangju. These hospitals will comprehensively provide infectious disease response, emergency medical care, and medical and care services. A feasibility study research project is planned to start this year, aiming for groundbreaking in 2030. Among the regions not selected, Dongducheon will be designated as Gyeonggi Province’s first ‘base medical institution for medically vulnerable areas,’ with support for operating expenses and equipment costs. Gapyeong will see expanded support for on-duty medical institution operating expenses, and Yeoncheon will have increased support for regional health care institutions. A total of 2.45 billion KRW will be invested in these projects.

Gyeonggi Province’s representative pet theme park, ‘Banryeomaru’ in Northern Gyeonggi, will be established in Dongducheon City. With a total project cost of 25 billion KRW, it will be developed as a complex cultural space for pets linked to Northern Gyeonggi’s tourism resources. After basic and detailed design, construction is scheduled to begin in September this year.

Relocation of public institutions will proceed as planned, starting with the Gyeonggi Research Institute (Uijeongbu), Gyeonggi Economic Science Promotion Agency (Paju), and Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation (Namyangju) in 2025, followed by the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (Guri) in 2026. The Talent Development Institute (Uijeongbu) and Transportation Training Institute (Pocheon) will be relocated via leasing, while the Northern Agricultural R&D Center of the Agricultural Technology Institute (Yeoncheon) and the Northern Campus of the Fire Academy (Yeoncheon) are planned to be newly constructed.

Transportation infrastructure will also be dramatically improved.

Northern Gyeonggi Road Network Plan. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

In the railway sector, to expand high-speed rail in Northern Gyeonggi, 300 million KRW was secured in the supplementary budget for the Uijeongbu-origin SRT feasibility study, and the project began at the end of November last year. For the Paju-origin KTX, 150 million KRW was secured in this year’s main budget for the feasibility study, and rapid commencement of the study is planned. Both projects will focus on conducting the feasibility studies in the first half of the year and will begin full-scale consultations with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other relevant central government agencies in the second half. In the road sector, 25 local roads totaling 116.37 km will be promoted this year, with a total investment of 142.5 billion KRW, aiming to reduce the average 13-year road project duration by more than 7 years.

To open the ‘1-hour era’ for commuting for Northern residents, the heavily congested section from Guri, Gyeonggi to Gwangjin Riverside Road in Seoul will be moved underground, and a private road will be constructed on the high-traffic section from Goyang, Gyeonggi to Eunpyeong, Seoul to disperse traffic volume. A total of 1.8 trillion KRW will be invested in constructing the ‘Northern Gyeonggi 1.5 Ring Expressway’ connecting Goyang, Paju, Yangju, Pocheon, and Namyangju, reducing east-west travel time by 1 hour and 30 minutes and enabling highway access within 10 minutes, thereby reorganizing the Northern Gyeonggi road network.

Thirty-three local rivers in the northern region will also be maintained. A total of 76.8 billion KRW will be invested this year, with focused investment on 13 rivers requiring urgent maintenance, including those in Goyang, Namyangju, Paju, and Uijeongbu, to start construction early. Eight rivers will be completed early to prepare for floods, heavy rain, and other abnormal weather events. A new 144 km continuous river path without administrative boundaries will be newly created this year, stretching from the Han River through Gwangsacheon and Cheongdamcheon in Yangju to the Hantan River. Convenience facilities such as walking trails, rest areas, and restrooms will also be installed to allow the rivers to be used like parks.

Northern Gyeonggi River Project Promotion Plan. Provided by Gyeonggi Province

In the investment attraction sector, a business agreement was signed last May to invest 150 billion KRW in a premium outlet in Northern Gyeonggi. Currently, negotiations are underway to attract multiple content companies and AI-based cloud advanced facilities.

Additionally, large-scale development projects such as Ilsan and Yangju Technovalley (land supply in 2025) and KINTEX Exhibition Hall 3 (construction starting January 2025) will be accelerated. This year, designation of a Northern Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone is planned, which is expected to expand corporate infrastructure in Northern Gyeonggi and significantly increase quality jobs.

Efforts to ease regulations for the development of the Northern Gyeonggi region will also be actively pursued. First, designation of Opportunity Development Zones and Peace Economy Zones will be actively promoted. The Opportunity Development Zone will be applied for by the Governor of Gyeonggi Province to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, targeting eight border and population-decreasing cities and counties, while the Peace Economy Zone will be developed as a center for inter-Korean peace economic exchanges targeting seven border cities and counties.

Furthermore, the partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Special Act on Support for Border Areas, which adds Gapyeong County as a border area, was legislatively announced on December 13 last year and is expected to be implemented early this year. This will promote residential conditions and regional development through expanded tax benefits such as the one-household-one-home exception and increased national funding support.