4.4 Million Pyong Leisure Complex To Be Constructed in Shihwaho

The Shihwaho tideland, the largest land not yet developed by the metropolitan area, will be developed into a complex leisure city to include facilities for tourists such as a marine resort, golf courses and an international car racing arena with an additional 2.5 million pyong set aside as residential land for the new city.

Six research institutes including the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the Korea Rural Economic Institute and the Korea Maritime Institute announced this as the “Long-term Overall Plan for the Shihwa District” yesterday. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation will settle on the government’s policy by the end of this month and propose a plan to commence next year.

According to the overall plan, the north tideland will be made into an industrial complex featuring Multi Techno Valley (3.17 million pyong) and Ansan Techno Park (0.1 million pyong). The south tideland will be divided into farmland (13.30 million pyong) and a site for the new city (17.20 million pyong).

The site for the new city will be developed into a residential area (2.5 million pyong) holding 95,000 people, an academic research complex (2.7 million pyong), a leisure product manufacturing and research complex (0.4 million pyong), an ecological park (4.5 million pyong) and areas for tourism and leisure.

The areas for tourism and leisure will include a composite sports leisure town featuring a marine resort complex, eight to ten golf courses and a soccer field, as well as leisure facilities such as a silver town for senior citizens and an international car racing arena.

A part of the tidal embankment will be torn down to build a huge tidal power plant. A harbor accommodating up to 24 ships will be built around the tidal embankment.

On-ramps will be established from the metropolitan area’s number two outer beltway and the Seohaean freeway, and a road system with three north-south routes and two east-west routes will be constructed to accommodate traffic. After 2013, there are plans to build a railroad connecting the Sosa to Wonshi south tidelands as well as a Yangjae to Shihwa freeway.

Meanwhile, this overall plan includes most of the ideas each local government and organization had presented, and trouble with environmental organizations concerning the project’s environmental damage seems to be inevitable.

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com