Gyeongbuk Province Launches Urban Regeneration New Deal Project on 500,000㎡ Site of Former Ssangyong Cement Mungyeong Plant

Seobu Power, Yeongnam Energy Service, and Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation MOU
Applying for Ministry of Land Project This Year... Completion by 2025

Overview of Ssangyong Cement Mungyeong Plant.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Gyeongsangbuk-do announced on the 28th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the 'Urban Regeneration New Deal Project New Energy Establishment' to transform the Ssangyong Cement Co., Ltd. Mungyeong Plant area into an industrial hub along with Korea Western Power and others through a fuel cell business.

Attending the signing ceremony were Kang Seong-jo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Ko Yoon-hwan, Mayor of Mungyeong, Ko Woo-hyun, Chairman of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Kim Byung-sook, President of Korea Western Power Co., Ltd., Nam Jeong-ho, CEO of Yeongnam Energy Service, and Lee Cheong-ryong, Chairman of the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation.

The Ssangyong Cement Mungyeong Plant is an inland cement factory built with UNKRA support in 1957 following the Korean War to meet the increasing cement demand due to South Korea's economic development. At the time, it attracted attention for supplying half of the domestic cement demand, but due to aging facilities, decreased productivity, and reduced demand, it closed in June 2018, and the surrounding area has gradually declined since then.

Through the MOU, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Mungyeong City will develop the area into a supply base for urban gas in regions where urban gas has not been supplied. Korea Western Power will be responsible for installing and operating fuel cells, the Korea Mine Reclamation Corporation will handle coordination, linkage, and consulting related to the Urban Regeneration New Deal Project, and Yeongnam Energy Service will be responsible for fuel supply and expanding the urban gas supply network.

Gyeongbuk Province and Mungyeong City plan to actively promote the Urban Regeneration New Deal Project to foster differentiated industrial hubs such as the Mungyeong Culture Factory, studios for young artists, and an extreme sports theme park by utilizing the site-specific characteristics of the UNKRA industrial heritage Ssangyong Cement Mungyeong Plant along with the fuel cell business.

The Mungyeong City Urban Regeneration New Deal Project is a large-scale project to revitalize the declining city and recreate the city by investing a total of 269.7 billion KRW over an area of 500,000㎡ in the Shingi-dong area of Mungyeong City by 2025. It is scheduled to be officially launched next year after applying for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Urban Regeneration New Deal Project central competition in the second half of this year.

Kang Seong-jo, Deputy Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, said, "We plan to expand urban regeneration projects to all 23 cities and counties in the province to breathe hope into declining downtown areas and establish a productive foundation. Through this, we will revitalize the local economy and improve living conditions for residents to create a vibrant Gyeongbuk."

Meanwhile, among the 332 eup, myeon, and dong in Gyeongbuk Province, 259 locations (78.0%) are classified as declining areas. 115 locations urgently require regeneration, and among the 16 cities and counties nationwide classified as high-risk for population extinction, 7 are in Gyeongbuk, highlighting the urgent need for urban regeneration New Deal projects to improve living conditions in declining areas.

So far, Gyeongbuk Province has selected and promoted urban regeneration projects worth 600 billion KRW in 28 locations across 17 cities and counties through competitive projects, and plans to expand to at least one location per city and county by next year, aiming to reach 1 trillion KRW in urban regeneration projects.

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