Gyeonggi Province will invest a total of 112 trillion won by 2040 to promote 224 development projects targeting 14 relatively underdeveloped cities and counties in the eastern and western regions of Gyeonggi.
On the 17th, Gyeonggi Province announced that it has finalized the large-scale project “2040 Gyeonggi Western and Eastern SOC Grand Development Plan” aimed at balanced regional development and improving the quality of life for residents.
This plan is the result of a year of cooperation between the public and private sectors following the inaugural ceremony of the “Gyeonggi Western and Eastern SOC Grand Development” held last year. The core focus of the plan is on large-scale development of 14 cities and counties in the western region?Hwaseong, Ansan, Pyeongtaek, Siheung, Paju, Gimpo, Anseong?and the eastern region?Yongin, Namyangju, Gwangju, Icheon, Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Gapyeong?that have been relatively neglected due to development centered on the Gyeongbu axis.
By sector, 34.1 trillion won will be invested in a total of 76 road routes. Major projects include ▲11 expressway routes such as Hwaseong~Anseong ▲26 national highway routes including the 2nd Gyeongchun ▲34 local road routes such as Giheung~Cheoin ▲5 city and provincial road routes including Ujeong~Hyangnam.
For railroads, 54.3 trillion won has been allocated for a total of 46 routes. Major projects include 11 KTX and GTX routes such as the KTX extension to Paju, and 35 general, metropolitan, and urban rail routes including Pyeongtaek~Bubal.
The development area covers 193 km², including the Gwangju station area phase 2 linked with metropolitan infrastructure such as the railroad network, with an investment of 23.6 trillion won.
Earlier, to realize the SOC grand development plan and activate private investment, Gyeonggi Province launched the “Gyeonggi Private Development Support Center” in August last year. The center provides one-stop administrative services such as risk prediction and management for large-scale private-led development projects including urban development, industrial complexes, and tourism complexes, as well as shortening the time required for permits and approvals. Recently, it discussed major agendas such as the creation of an international theme park tourism complex in Hwaseong City and the Bukhangang Green Mobility project in Gapyeong County.
Furthermore, after more than a year of continuous consultation with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the center led the revision of the “Guidelines for Applying Adjacent Development in Natural Conservation Areas,” which allows the establishment of industrial complexes up to 300,000㎡ under certain conditions, including the establishment of a plan to regulate indiscriminate development within natural conservation zones.
Going forward, the center plans to continuously consult with relevant central government agencies and revise related laws and guidelines jointly with cities and counties to rationalize regulations, including “realizing reasonable differentiated regulations within natural conservation areas to improve overlapping regulations” and “securing additional industrial areas to strengthen the self-sufficiency functions of the 3rd New Towns.”
Son Im-seong, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Urban Housing Office, said, “This SOC grand development is not just a plan but a practical cornerstone for balanced development created together by the private and public sectors, and the first mid- to long-term plan in Korea embodying the spirit of cooperative governance in the 8th administration. We will do our best to expand private investment even in the SOC sector, which is generally considered a public domain, through the establishment of a concrete and systematic roadmap from planning to execution and active policy promotion.”
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