Gyeonggi Province’s three-year effort to have the Ansan Science Valley District (ASV) designated as a Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone has been finalized. This designation is expected to generate 2.2 trillion won in production inducement and create employment for approximately 12,000 people.
According to Gyeonggi Province on January 15, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced the “Development Plan for Additional Free Economic Zone Designation: Ansan Science Valley District” on this day.
Ansan Science Valley is a project to establish a hub for advanced robotics and manufacturing industries based on global research and development (R&D) on a 1.66 km² (approximately 500,000 pyeong) site in Sadong, Ansan City. With its designation as a free economic zone, foreign direct investment will be possible here, and it is also expected to contribute to the digital transformation of the traditionally manufacturing-focused Banwol and Sihwa National Industrial Complexes.
In particular, Gyeonggi Province plans to create an innovation model for the manufacturing industry by linking the nearby Banwol National Industrial Complex (15.4 km²) and Sihwa National Industrial Complex (16.1 km²).
Gyeonggi Province also expects to attract global companies, leveraging the region’s characteristics as a cluster of industry, academia, and research, including Hanyang University ERICA Campus, Gyeonggi Technopark, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. The Ansan Science Valley project will run from this year through 2032, with a total investment of 410.5 billion won.
Kim Dongyeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, visited the Ansan Science Valley District during a field tour focused on the local economy in December of last year and stated, “The industrial map of Ansan will change, and the economic map of Gyeonggi Province will change, centered around Ansan Science Valley. We will implement the plan without delay and, if possible, accelerate the schedule. If necessary, Gyeonggi Province will also participate in attracting companies.”
Since Ansan Science Valley was selected as a candidate site for the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone in 2022, Gyeonggi Province has spent three years preparing development plans, attracting investment, and consulting with the Ministry of Industry.
From May 2023, Gyeonggi Province held 26 working-level meetings with implementing agencies and stakeholders through research services, focusing on the necessity of additional designation for the Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone and the process of selecting key strategic industries, as they prepared the development plan.
In addition, by actively incorporating expert advice, Gyeonggi Province completed the optimal development plan, submitted the application to the Ministry of Industry in January of last year, and passed the review of the Free Economic Zone Committee of the Ministry of Industry in September of the same year.
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