Sudden Breaking of Housing Site Development

An evaluation of environment impacts has continuously frustrated in the plan of national rental housing complex construction which the government has promoted for a stabilization of popular residence.

The Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MOCT) attempted to release 4 development-restricting zones (green belt) including Siheung-si(Gyeonggi), Jeonghwang, Songjeong (Busan) to construct the national rental housing complex and then planed to designed them as areas for a site development. However, on November 21, the MOCT announced that it would give up the plan because of an opposition of the Ministry of Environment (ME).

1km away from Shihwa Complex, Jeonghwang zone of Siheung-si was excluded from areas projected for the site development as the ME requests to take a fundamental measure against an offensive smell and opposed its development. The MOCT planed to construct 16,900 households of the national rental apartments by releasing 698,000 pyong of the green belt.

Songjeong zone of Busan also was not designated as the site development, because the ME showed disapproval of the designation of the site development zone owing to the bad smell of Noksan Industrial Complex. It was planed that there would be 2,500 households of the national rental apartment for employees of Noksan Industrial Complex in this zone (74,000 Pyong).

Cheonggang zone of Busan (107,000 Pyong, 3,400 households) was excluded in the project zone as the zone has a lot of areas with high conservation value through evaluation of the environment impact.

Daejok 2 of Daegu (202,000 Pyong, 5,960 households) was not excluded in the zone designation as experts indicated that the additional rental housing is not required owing to the oversupply of the rental housing in the neighborhood.

The MOCT planed to supply 102,420 households (60,000 households of the national rental housing apartments) through releasing 3764000 Pyong of the green belt. However, it reduced to 3,109,000 Pyong and 76810 households.

Gwon Oh-Yeol, general manager of residence environment division, MOCT said, “We plans to construct the national rental housing of 8,000 households in Jangji zone and Balsan zone, and will have the planed supply volume by acquiring the land projected for the national rental housing additionally in the general site zone.”

Besides, the MOCT also excluded Jinhae Dudong zone in Gyeongnam (8,700 households) and Gyeongsan Hayang zone in Gyeongbuk (3,400 households) in the designation plan of the zone projected for the site development as the ME was opposed owing to adjacent water supply and industrial complex in these zones.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com