Northern Gyeonggi Pangyo 'Guri Namyangju Technovalley' Canceled

Guri-Namyangju Technovalley Bird's-eye View

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The 'Guri-Namyangju Technovalley' development project, which has been underway since 2017 to strengthen industrial competitiveness and create a new growth hub in the northern Gyeonggi region, has been completely canceled.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 12th that it recently submitted a project plan adjustment to the provincial council to abolish the Guri-Namyangju Technovalley development project, which involved investing a total of 220.7 billion KRW to build knowledge industry complexes and residential mixed-use facilities on approximately 294,000㎡ of land in Sano-dong, Guri City, and Toegyewon-myeon, Namyangju City, focusing on information technology (IT), biotechnology (BT), culture technology (CT), and nanotechnology (NT).

The Guri-Namyangju Technovalley was an ambitious project pursued by the province aiming to create the 'Second Northern Pangyo' following Seongnam Pangyo. However, due to differing locational conditions?Namyangju City being in a growth management zone under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act and Guri City belonging to an overconcentration control zone?the feasibility study showed a benefit-cost ratio (B/C) below 1.

Furthermore, in July last year, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety notified the province to reconsider the project, expressing concerns about oversupply and other side effects if the Guri-Namyangju Technovalley proceeded while 1.4 million㎡ of self-sufficient land was being supplied in the Wang-suk district of Namyangju.

The Wang-suk district is a site for the government's 3rd New Town and is adjacent to the area where the Technovalley was to be developed. Accordingly, the province, after consultations with the project stakeholders?Guri City and Namyangju City?withdrawn the memorandum of understanding for the Technovalley development.

With the project plan withdrawn, Guri City will independently develop a 'Food Tech Valley' combining food and information technology industries on the site. However, since the Sano-dong area is designated as an overconcentration control zone under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act, there is a possibility of changes to the project plan.

Namyangju City plans to develop the Technovalley zone (73,000㎡) independently as a national industrial complex. The city has proposed to the government that this zone be included in the state-owned land development pilot project (IT-based new industry promotion and public housing supply). The city expects that once the Technovalley zone is developed, it will function as an advanced industrial complex cluster linked with the existing self-sufficient functions of the Wang-suk district.

A provincial official explained, "Despite holding TF meetings, business consulting, and research services with joint project implementers such as Namyangju City, Guri City, Gyeonggi Urban Corporation, Namyangju Urban Corporation, and Guri Urban Corporation to improve project feasibility, no solution was found, leading to the final decision to cancel the project."

The official added, "However, since Namyangju requires Gyeonggi Province's support for converting the Technovalley zone into a national project complex and for future industrial complex quotas and development restriction zone releases, we will not spare administrative support."

The province decided to proceed with the Yangju Technovalley development project, one of the two pillars of balanced development in northern Gyeonggi, as originally planned.

Aerial View of Yangju Technovalley

The Yangju Technovalley project involves investing 232.9 billion KRW by 2024 to develop a 470,000㎡ restricted development zone in Nambang-dong and Majon-dong into an advanced industrial complex specializing in textiles, fashion, and electrical and electronic fields. The province expects the Yangju Technovalley to create about 23,000 jobs and generate an economic effect of 1.8 trillion KRW.

Previously, in 2005, the province developed the Pangyo Technovalley on a 661,000㎡ site in Sampyeong-dong, Bundang-gu, Seongnam, and the 2nd Pangyo Technovalley on a 430,402㎡ site in Siheung-dong and Geumto-dong, Sujeong-gu.

The province is currently promoting the '3rd Pangyo (Seongnam Geumto District) Technovalley' on a 583,581㎡ site in Geumto-dong adjacent to the 2nd Pangyo Technovalley, targeting completion in 2025.

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