Utilizing Urban Vacant Land to Develop Parcel Logistics Facilities

A delivery company branch in Seoul. / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The government is actively considering not only housing supply through public idle land but also utilization plans for living logistics facilities.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport recently announced on the 26th that amid the expansion of the online distribution market and the surge in demand for living logistics due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), it will supply idle land owned and managed by public institutions to expand urban logistics facilities, which have been stagnant in new supply due to high land prices and location regulations.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport previously formed a 'Living Logistics Council' in June, involving local governments, public institutions, and the logistics industry to alleviate difficulties faced by living logistics companies and support the activation of non-face-to-face services related to logistics facility expansion. Since then, it conducted a status survey on idle land managed by public institutions in the metropolitan area and discovered a total of 29 long-unused sites covering 130,000㎡, including 10 urban railway vehicle bases, 4 underground stations, 10 metropolitan and general railway station idle sites, and 3 underpasses of highway overpasses.

The Ministry plans to supply sites immediately available after confirming site conditions such as logistics industry demand surveys and access road development for the 29 idle sites together with public institutions within this year. Public idle lands requiring additional infrastructure development such as access road installation and site cleanup will be supplied gradually starting next year.

The target sites will be supplied mainly as logistics facilities supporting parcel delivery, considering industry demand, site size and characteristics, and urgency of supply. However, sites located underground, such as Seoul urban railway stations, will also be considered for use as urban storage facilities for small and medium-sized distribution and logistics companies.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to finalize the supply targets through joint on-site inspections with public institutions and the logistics industry within this month. Subsequently, it will establish integrated standards for joint evaluation, selection, and operation by related agencies and supply the sites within the year through a public offering process.

Han Sung-soo, Director of the Advanced Logistics Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We will continue to discover additional idle land through the operation of the Living Logistics Council and prepare administrative and financial support measures including institutional improvements, making multifaceted efforts so that the public can feel the improvement in the quality of living logistics services."

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