Chungnam Tackles 'Core Costs' First: Business Attraction and Electricity Rates
Chungnam Province's industrial strategy has delivered tangible results. An industrial complex for Celltrion, one of Korea's leading bio companies, has received final approval to move into the Naepo Agro-Bio Convergence Industry Cluster, while the Seosan Daesan Petrochemical Complex has been designated as a specialized area for distributed energy.
Chungnam Province has addressed bottlenecks in site development and electricity costs, which have been cited as key obstacles to attracting businesses, and its industrial policy is now seen as entering the implementation phase.
Anho, Director of the Industrial Economy Office of Chungnam Province, held a press conference at the provincial government briefing room on the 29th, stating, "All administrative procedures, including the review by the Central Land Expropriation Committee, have been completed for the industrial complex plan in the Naepo Agro-Bio Convergence Industry Cluster to accommodate Celltrion," and added, "Final approval and public announcement are scheduled for the 30th."
Accordingly, Celltrion plans to begin groundwork construction in March next year and complete the factory by 2028.
A large-scale bio-production base centered on pharmaceutical manufacturing will be established in Yesan, and Phase 1 of the Naepo Agro-Bio Convergence Industry Cluster will be fully launched. The approved industrial complex will cover approximately 36,000 pyeong (about 119,000 square meters).
This project is the first case in Korea where a tenant company has participated directly from the industrial complex planning stage.
Unlike the traditional approach of attracting companies after supplying industrial complexes, a demand-driven industrial complex model was institutionalized by reflecting corporate needs in advance.
Anho stated, "We will jointly develop support and public facilities with Celltrion, focusing on industrial sites, and comprehensively incorporate disaster and environmental impact mitigation measures to create a sustainable industrial complex," adding, "We are also preparing a Phase 2 industrial complex plan covering 300,000 pyeong (about 990,000 square meters), with the aim of applying for approval in April next year and announcing final approval in the second half of 2027."
The Seosan Daesan Petrochemical Complex has also been designated by the government as a specialized area for distributed energy.
The Daesan complex is a representative power-intensive industrial complex, where the burden of high electricity costs has limited corporate competitiveness. The region's industrial conditions had also deteriorated to the extent that it was designated as a preemptive response area for industrial and employment crises.
With the designation as a specialized area, HD Hyundai ENF will supply electricity generated from a 299.9MW LNG combined heat and power plant to 14 companies in the special zone, including Hyundai OCI, KCC, and Kolon Industries.
These companies will be supplied with electricity at rates 6-10% lower than before, resulting in expected annual cost savings of 15 to 17 billion won.
Myunghyun Kim, CEO of HD Hyundai ENF, stated, "With the operating rate of the power plant having dropped to around 60% due to the downturn in the petrochemical industry, the designation as a distributed energy specialized area has provided an opportunity to improve generation efficiency," and added, "We are now able to supply relatively inexpensive electricity to nearby small and medium-sized enterprises."
He continued, "We also expect to be able to promote community return projects, such as replacing aging substations and installing solar panels at public facilities."
Kyunghwan Park, Director of the Economic and Industrial Bureau of Seosan City, said, "The most significant demand identified in our survey of local companies was the reduction of electricity costs," and added, "The designation as a distributed energy specialized area will provide substantial benefits to both the Daesan complex and small and medium-sized enterprises."
Anho stated, "We will strengthen cooperation between Seosan City, HD Hyundai ENF, and tenant companies to ensure the stable establishment of direct power transactions, and focus administrative support on this initiative," adding, "Based on this achievement, we will gradually expand distributed energy zones to key hubs within the province, such as Cheonan, Asan, and Boryeong."
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