The Roh administration and the Uri Party are planning a national capital development measure that includes the construction of a central pedestrian bridge joining northern and southern Seoul over the Han River, according to party and government officials.
According to the two parties official 60-page national capital development measure document obtained on March 16 after their recent private conference, 17.2 million pyeong of land near Lake Shihwa in Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, will be developed as an environmentally friendly eco-city. Seouls Nokbeon and Mokdong neighborhoods, and the cities of Gwangmyeong and Hanam in Gyeonggi will also be included in the promotion of the establishment of ring-shaped electric railways.
These policies were in response to requests made by the regions citizens and community organizations. A Grand National Party candidate for the upcoming Seoul mayoral election has also recently pledged to push for a central Han River footbridge.
However, some point out that this is a rehash of election-minded policies, looking ahead to the local elections.
Central Walking Bridge-
Included in the document are plans by the ruling party and the government to construct a central walking bridge joining Seouls Yongsan and Banpo, Yeouido and Mapo, Ttukseom and Jamsil, Gwangnaru and Pungnab, and lastly, Sangam and Yeomchang. After creating artificial pond areas near major intersections such as the Olympic Highway and the northern riverside route, they have also decided to investigate the possibility of making this area into a pedestrian green space.
The idea is to dissolve the sense of alienation between the northern and southern banks of the river and to make the Han River area an approachable, resident-friendly space.
They have decided to push for the removal of the military compound from the Geumcheon district, the railway base from the Guro district, the Taereung athletes village and cement factory from the Nowon district, the Office of Military Manpower administration building from the Yeongdeungpo district, and the Sampyo Remicon factory from the Seongdong district.
A total of 17.2 million pyeong in the Lake Shihwa region has been designated for development as a mammoth environmentally friendly eco-city, including a man-made reed swamp. A strategy has been formed to absorb tourism and leisure demands within and outside of the country, with Paju in Gyeonggi and the Cheorwon army military base in Gangwon developed as places to experience barracks life, and a battle conference center and military museum will be built near the cease-fire zone.
Inside the Incheon Free Economic Zone, a pavilion of miniature models of famous foreign neighborhoods and streets will be created, serving as an educational and leisure cultural attraction for tourists and residents alike.
Additionally, construction has been planned for a circular electric railway joining Incheon, Suwon, Ori (Bundang), Deokso (Guri), Uijeongbu, and Ilsan; areas surrounding Seoul.
Over 80 out of 100 government-ruling party sponsored national capital development plans are similar to the first and second step national capital plans presented to the public in June and December of last year. The rest consist of a rehash of slightly retouched plans promoted by existing regional autonomous organizations.
Connecting the ancient palace inside Seouls four gates to a green colored pedestrian area, the executed measure to preserve green spaces, and efforts to strengthen new city information communication infrastructures in a new way are said to be previously announced plans by the Office of Forestry and the Ministry of Construction and Transportation.
For the next five years, the building of 300,000 new residences a year, resulting in an increase of 1,500,000 homes, a rehash of the August 31 real estate joint plan, along with improvements in the Bus Rapid Transit system and the transformation of Suwon in Gyeonggi into a world semiconductor industry complex, are all policies that have already been promoted in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.
Most of the plans lack an actual timeline or estimated realization plan, so despite words like promoting; constructing; and fostering, it is difficult to verify the actual progress of these plans.
An Uri Party national capital development committee representative said, Seoul regional development and the removal of the army officer school to Gangwon were strongly demanded by the administration, but most have not accepted it, adding, With the upcoming local elections, and because of the sentiment that these things must be announced by the end of March at the latest, it appears that the plan has stalled.