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 (Incheon=Yonhap) Reported by Kim Myeong-gyun

The “8 City” Project, designed to create a cultural and tourist complex in Yongyu and Muui, in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, in the Yeongjong District, is expected to get underway smoothly. 

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority announced, on December 7, that the Ministry of Knowledge Economy had approved the “revised plan for the development of the complex city on Yongyu and Muui,” which includes the expansion of the development area from 24 ㎢, which was approved and announced in December 2009, to 30.2 ㎢, on December 6.  

The area newly approved for expansion is a 6.2 ㎢–wide area of sea near Yongyudo (island). The approval for this expansion has prompted all other approval procedures for the first-stage infrastructure establishment, including for the 12 projects to be initiated next year.

The expansion project is expected to maximize land utilization in the Yeongjong District and help secure the financial resources for land compensation expenses. 

Covering an area (79.5 ㎢) three times larger than Macao, the “8 City” Project will begin early next year and will develop 30.2 ㎢ of land and sea during the first stage of the construction process. Incheon City obtained permission for the development plan from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in December 2009 (first-stage land development) – a move that has now been incorporated in the “2025 Incheon City Plan” formulated in May 2010. 

In June, “8 City” signed an agreement with the Britain-based SDC group for an investment of USD 1 billion in the project and with Korea Investment Securities for financing of the land redemption expenses worth KRW 3 trillion by the first half of next year.

kmg@yna.co.kr