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The government is refining a plan to develop a reclaimed landsite of 15.8 million square meters in the Gimpo region near Incheon International Airport into a commercial and residential complex. The complex will include logistics centers, international conference halls, and hotels linked to the new airport, which opened in March last year.
The landsite in Gimpo was originally a wetland and sea zone that was reclaimed by now-bankrupt Dong-ah Construction Ind. and held on to for 12 years from 1978. The purpose of the reclamation was to cultivate a farming zone as much as 5 times the size of Seoul's Yeouido region.
Most of the site, however, has remained untouched since a subsidiary organization of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MOAF) acquired the land at W635.5 billion, which it borrowed from banks, in August 1999. The organization has also been losing money as the interest payments on the loan totals W60 billion each year, compared to the W2-billion yearly income it earns from cultivating rice there.
In his New Year's press conference, President Kim Dae-jung said that his government will press ahead with its goal to develop the country as a hub for businesses in Asia, and the government's plan to develop the landsite in Gimpo was apparently made in line with the president's broader scheme.
One high-ranking official at the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said Wednesday that his ministry has been working out a comprehensive development plan that includes regions surrounding Incheon International Airport, such as the Gimpo landsite, Songdo Island, and the Ilsan residential area near Gimpo city. He said the development plan is in line with the government's vision to foster the region as the logistics hub for Northeast Asia by attracting foreign investment.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum was reported to have told Thomas Hubbard, US ambassador to Korea, that the government will work out a blueprint for the development plan for the region, including the reclaimed site, by the end of March in a bid to attract foreign investment.
Earlier, a government research organization had proposed a plan to develop 48 percent of the reclaimed region into a combination of tour, logistics, residential and research zones, while retaining the remaining zone as farming area. MOFE said such a plan to divide the land into two different zones was not feasible.
(Kim Ki-hun, khkim@chosun.com )
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