Incheon Cheongna Medical Complex Town Re-tendering 추진…Yeongjongdo Comprehensive Hospital Service Commencement

Recruitment of Operators for 500-Bed General Hospital and Industry-Academia-Research Facilities in Cheongna Fails
First General Hospital with Emergency Medical Center Planned in Yeongjong... Service Contract to be Completed by September

Cheongna International City Panorama
Photo by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] While the construction of a large general hospital is being promoted in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, there were no participating companies in Cheongna International City, leading to a re-bid, and Yeongjong International City has started a feasibility study to attract a general hospital.

According to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on the 2nd, the bid for selecting a business operator to create a medical complex town with a general hospital of more than 500 beds in Cheongna International City closed on the 30th of last month, but no proposals were submitted, resulting in a failed bid.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority analyzed that the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) dampened companies' willingness to participate in large-scale development projects, and the poor sales of several officetel units recently conducted in Cheongna International City also affected this bid.

However, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority plans to supplement the bidding plan and promote a re-bid as soon as possible, as the Cheongna medical complex town site has remained undeveloped for a long time and requires prompt development, and it is an essential facility for the development of Cheongna International City.

The Cheongna medical complex town plans to attract a general hospital with at least 500 beds and medical bio-related industry-academia-research facilities, office facilities, and commercial facilities on a project site of 261,000 square meters.

Considering its proximity to Incheon International Airport, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority envisions focusing on fostering the high value-added medical tourism industry to develop it into Asia's top medical complex town, similar to Singapore Biopolis and Dubai Healthcare City.

Originally, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Cha Hospital Group to promote the Cheongna medical complex town, but after the Free Economic Zone Committee of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy deliberated and resolved in April last year to open a public bid for the project operator, preparations for the bid have been underway.

An official from the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority stated, "The Cheongna medical complex town will meet citizens' demand for life-cycle medical services and create synergy effects through the concentration of medical-related industry, academia, and research facilities. We will carefully review the project details and supplement the bidding plan to actively promote the project so that it can get on the right track."

In Yeongjong, Incheon Free Economic Zone, where there is not a single general hospital, the construction of a general hospital equipped with an emergency medical center is also being promoted.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority has launched a feasibility study to build a general hospital on a 105,000 square meter site owned by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) in Yeongjong Sky City, Unnam-dong, Jung-gu, and plans to complete it around September.

The study will seek ways to attract a general hospital to Yeongjong Island, where the business feasibility is insufficient for building a general hospital considering the residential population and population distribution.

This includes analyzing the current status of the emergency medical system and developing improvement plans, exploring options for establishing a national general hospital, developing an optimized general hospital model for private sector attraction, and administrative and financial support plans for strategic hospital attraction.

The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority also plans to investigate cases of hospital attraction in other local governments with conditions similar to Yeongjong International City to develop a hospital model with competitive bed capacity and review ways to attract investor interest.

Yeongjong Island has 90,000 residents and a floating population of 280,000, including airport employees and users, but there is no general hospital. As a result, emergency patients are frequently transported across Yeongjong Bridge or Incheon Bridge to large general hospitals.

About 12,000 Yeongjong residents submitted a petition to the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority and Jung-gu in August last year, urging the attraction of a general hospital, and Incheon City formed a six-party consultative body for the construction of a general hospital, including the City Council, the Free Economic Zone Authority, Jung-gu, LH, and Incheon International Airport Corporation.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.