Dangjin "largest in Korea" smart farm and Geumsan youth lease farm confirmed...Project to accelerate under special permitting provisions
On June 26 last year, in the provincial government situation room, Kim Taeheum, governor of Chungcheongnam-do (center), is taking a commemorative photo with Oh Chihoon, chairman of Daehan Steel (left), and Oh Seonghwan, mayor of Dangjin (right), after signing an investment memorandum of understanding to promote the Eco-Grid Dangjin Project.
South Chungcheong Province has secured government designation for both Dangjin and Geumsan in the competition for the "Smart Agriculture Promotion Zone."
This is being evaluated as an agricultural policy achievement by Governor Kim Taeheum, driven by large-scale investment attraction and strong administrative backing. Once completed, the Seokmun Smart Farm Complex in Dangjin will become the largest in the Republic of Korea.
On the 4th, South Chungcheong Province announced that Dangjin and Geumsan had been finally selected in the competition for the designation of Smart Agriculture Promotion Zones, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The Smart Agriculture Promotion Zone is a core project designated by the government with the aim of creating long-term lease-type smart farms for the stable entry of young farmers, and building regional clusters of industries related to smart farms.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected seven locations nationwide through document screening and on-site inspections, based on criteria such as the potential for project outcomes, the appropriateness of site selection, and the feasibility of the plans. Among these, South Chungcheong Province achieved results by having two locations chosen.
The Dangjin Smart Agriculture Promotion Zone is the Seokmun Smart Farm Complex that was promoted after Governor Kim Taeheum signed an investment memorandum of understanding with Daehan Steel and Dangjin City in June last year.
This smart farm complex will be developed on reclaimed land in Seokmun, centered around Tongjeong-ri in Seokmun-myeon, with an area of 119 hectares, and Daehan Steel will invest 544 billion won in the project by 2028.
The complex will be equipped with public support facilities, including greenhouses for young farmers available for lease and sale, general sale greenhouses, model greenhouses, nurseries, processing and distribution centers, cold storage facilities, and sorting and packaging centers. Its scale will far exceed that of the current largest smart farm facilities in Korea, the Smart Farm Innovation Valleys (20 hectares each).
In particular, by utilizing waste heat generated from the YK Steel plant to be built nearby by 2028, the project is expected to reduce energy costs by more than 10 billion won per year.
The 31,000 tons of carbon emission credits secured annually through the operation of the Seokmun Smart Farm Complex will be provided to YK Steel, thereby contributing to the realization of carbon neutrality.
With this designation as a Smart Agriculture Promotion Zone, the Seokmun Smart Farm Complex will benefit from deemed approval procedures and special provisions under the Public Property and Commodity Management Act.
The provincial government expects that the shortening of permitting procedures and the expansion of administrative support will significantly accelerate the pace of complex development.
The Geumsan Smart Agriculture Promotion Zone is a lease-type smart farm to be created on an 11.1-hectare site in Pacho-ri, Geumseong-myeon, Geumsan-gun.
A total of 20 billion won will be invested in the project by 2028, and through this selection, 10 billion won in national funding has been secured. The plan is to focus on the production of fruit vegetables and leafy vegetables, while promoting management training and start-up support for young farmers.
An official from the provincial government said, "This government designation is a turning point that will simultaneously expand the scale of both production and distribution," adding, "We will attract more young farmers and establish a stable agricultural production base to make South Chungcheong Province the center of smart agriculture in the Republic of Korea."
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