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| Landscape of the last-minute construction on Saemangeum | ||
At the beginning, this project was aimed mainly at improving agricultural productivity to resolve a food problem by expanding arable lands.
However, with the problem resolved, the Korean government was seeking to modify the development plans. After years of research on various possible development models - initially, 70% of the land earmarked for farming and 30% for industry and tourism - the plans changed at a
direction like 70% of the land for industry and tourism and the rest for farming in an effort to render the project more efficient, dynamic and profitable.
With a 30-year bureaucratic career, Commissioner Lee Choon-hee of the Saemangeum
Gunsan Free Economic Zone (SGFEZ) Authority has taken part in the development projects in almost all parts of Korea.
However, Lee maintained that he has never seen anything like the Saemangeum reclamation in terms of its historical and industrial signifi cance.
The government first embarked on filling the Saemangeum estuary in 1991 to create more land and a freshwater reservoir along the country’s southwestern coastline.
The centerpiece of the monumental project is the Saemangeum Seawall, a 33㎞ barrage in the West Sea connecting Gunsan, 270㎞ southwest of Seoul, with the other major cities of Gimje, Buan and Iksan in North Jeolla Province.
The adjacent waters will be reclaimed for industrial, agricultural and tourism development as well as the eradication of water shortage problems.
The seawall, situated south of Gunsan, is the longest such facility in the world. It will open for transportation and tourism services in December. Local offi cials said that an estimated 6 million tourists will visit the seawall and adjacent maritime leisure facilities on its signature island of Gogunsan per year.
There are currently six free economic zones in the country, including the metropolitan cities of Incheon, Busan-Jinhae, Gwangyang Bay, Yellow Sea, Daegu-North Gyungsang Proince and Saemangeum- Gunsan, which are already established as the country’s key industrial players.
Korea launched the SGFEZ Authority less than a year ago to oversee the construction of the SGFEZ and develop administrative services for the domestic and overseas businesses to be housed there.
The background for establishing a free economic zone in the southwestern coast is closely associated with Korea’s urgent need to compete with China, one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
The economic rise of China has opened Korea’s eyes to the strategic importance of nurturing the business potentials of the West Sea area by establishing high-tech industries.
Korea designated the Saemangeum and Gunsan area as its sixth and final free economic zone in May 2005, pronouncing its design would make full and strategic use of the Saemangeum reclamation, and fulfill North Jeolla’s long aspirations for a national project that would secure balanced development for the region.
The SGFEZ, spanning 66 ㎢ and budgeted at 5 trillion won, has three main features ― an industrial complex, tourism and leisure facilities and finally, research, education, and residential areas.
The industrial area will account for more than half of the total space of the free economic zone, with another 33 percent to house research centers, as well as homes and schools for domestic and international workers of tenant businesses.
Besides focusing on knowledge-based industries including automobiles, shipbuilding, machinery, high-tech parts and components, the SGFEZ will be devoted to developers of renewable energy and bio technology.
By Shin, Kirim
아주경제= 신기림 기자 kirimi99@ajnews.co.kr
(아주경제=ajnews.co.kr) 무단전재 배포금지
reporter
Park Sae-jin
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