Suwon Gwanggyo New Town, a new city developed by Gyeonggi Province, has been completed 20 years after its development began.
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 6th that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 31st of last month that the completion date of the land development project for Gwanggyo New Town, the first new town constructed by a local government in Korea, was December 31 of last year.
The Gwanggyo New Town development project began on June 30, 2004, when the then Ministry of Construction and Transportation designated the area as a land development planned district. After Gyeonggi Province, a local government, finalized and publicly notified the project implementation and development plan in December 2005, the project went through seven phases until 2023, culminating in this completion.
Regarding this completion announcement, Gyeonggi Province explained that in land development projects, the previous land categories such as rice paddies and fields are converted into new green spaces and residential land, and infrastructure such as roads and water supply and sewage systems are established before the land is supplied. The completion of Gwanggyo New Town means that these infrastructure developments and supply processes have been completed.
Gwanggyo New Town was developed over an area of 10.8 km² (3.26 million pyeong) in the districts of Iui-dong, Woncheon-dong, Hadong in Yeongtong-gu, Suwon City, and Sanghyeon-dong in Suji-gu, Yongin City. Suwon City accounts for 88% and Yongin City 12% of the area. It is part of the second phase of new towns in the Seoul metropolitan area, constructed alongside Wirye, Dongtan, and Pangyo New Towns. As of the end of last year, the population was 78,571, making it an eco-friendly city with the highest green space ratio (44.1%) and the lowest population density (72.8 persons/ha) among new towns in Korea.
In the Gyeonggi Convergence Town of Gwanggyo New Town, the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education, Bank of Korea Gyeonggi Headquarters, Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation, and Iui 119 Safety Center have completed moving in. This year, the Gyeonggi Credit Guarantee Foundation will move in, and the Gyeonggi Library will open. The Suwon Convention Center, equipped with exhibition halls and small conference rooms, as well as the Gwanggyo Legal Town including Suwon District Court and Prosecutor's Office, and High Court and Prosecutor's Office, were completed in 2019.
As an eco-friendly urban plan, the residential area ratio was lowered to about 19% to preserve green corridors, and the green space ratio was set at 44.1% of the total urban area. This is much higher compared to Pangyo at 35%, Bundang at 20%, Ilsan at 22%, and Gimpo at 28%. The city features a nature-friendly park incorporating Woncheon and Shindae Lakes and a circulation system that purifies the lake water and supplies it upstream, which earned it the 'Korea Landscape Award' in 2014.
The opening of the Shinbundang Line extension, a metropolitan transportation facility, has shortened commuting time to Gangnam to about 30 minutes. The expansion of the Sanghyeon Intersection on National Road 43, the opening of the Buk Suwon private road, and roads such as Sanghyeon IC to Sammakgok have also improved the transportation environment.
Son Imseong, Director of the Urban Housing Office of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Gwanggyo New Town is a city created by extensively gathering opinions from experts in various fields and residents from the planning stage through construction, completion, and sale. We will continue to maintain interest and do our best for systematic urban management and development."
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