Jeonnam Province Accelerates Future New Industry Development with Major Revamp of Gwangyang Bay Industrial Complex

Secured 60.9 Billion KRW in National Funding for 18 Projects Next Year

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province will foster future new industries as a foundation for the chemical and steel industries' leap forward through a major redevelopment of the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex, linking the Yeosu National Industrial Complex with the Gwangyang and Yulchon industrial complexes by 2024.

According to Jeonnam Province on the 15th, in the first year of the project next year, 60.9 billion KRW in national funds for 18 projects have been reflected in the government budget proposal, marking the official start of the industrial complex redevelopment.

The industrial complex redevelopment is a large-scale government job creation project that fosters new industries by linking manufacturing-centered industrial complexes and adjacent infrastructure into regional industrial innovation hubs.

In May, the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex, selected as the government's first industrial complex redevelopment contest project, is a core hub of regional manufacturing, accounting for 89% of Jeonnam's industrial complex production, 24% of resident companies, and 57.7% of employment, concentrated in petrochemical and steel industries.

Therefore, Jeonnam Province plans to develop the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex into a "low-carbon intelligent materials and components industrial complex," promoting functional distribution and specialization strategies for each industrial complex in connection with the hub complex.

In the case of the Yeosu National Industrial Complex, designated separately by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy as a Smart Green Industrial Complex as a hub for the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex redevelopment, it will be remodeled into a "resource-circulating and new industry-creating complex centered on the chemical industry" in line with government New Deal policies.

Additionally, the Gwangyang National Industrial Complex will expand infrastructure to strengthen the global competitiveness of the steel industry, establish a hub for nurturing startup companies, and support the development of secondary batteries and the metal industry for business diversification.

The Yulchon General Industrial Complex plans to foster petrochemical and steel products from the Yeosu and Gwangyang complexes into high value-added new industries such as fine chemicals and metal materials and components, linking coexistence between large and small-medium enterprises and job creation.

So far, the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex has faced difficulties in accelerating large-scale new investments by companies due to a lack and aging of public infrastructure such as industrial water, wastewater treatment, industrial sites, and piping networks.

In particular, the lack of smart infrastructure such as ICT, recurring environmental and safety accidents, long-term low growth of core industries like chemical and steel, and the need for industrial advancement through value chain linkage with new growth industries have been continuously raised.

The province plans to strengthen the competitiveness of the industrial complex and secure sustainable growth engines through solving environmental and safety issues, improving aging infrastructure, and applying advanced technologies to the manufacturing environment via the industrial complex redevelopment project.

To this end, by 2024, 52 new projects and 16 linked projects have been proposed to the government, with detailed project plans under negotiation, and the projects will be finalized through an agreement with the government in December.

Among these, Jeonnam Province has reflected 60.9 billion KRW in national funds for 18 priority projects to be promoted next year in the government budget proposal for the first year.

The projects will focus on establishing a smart energy platform to improve energy efficiency of individual factories and foster new energy industries along with an integrated environment and safety management center within the Gwangyang Bay industrial complex to address recurring issues such as greenhouse gas reduction and hazardous substance emissions.

Also, the pipeline network for raw materials and product transfer will be expanded due to new and expanded factories in the Yeosu industrial complex, and aging underground pipelines will be elevated and smartized to prevent chemical hazardous substance leaks and establish a stable supply base.

Along with this, a complex cultural center and happy housing will be built to provide welfare and convenience for workers, and plans will be made to create beautiful industrial complex streets and an industrial complex regeneration plan to improve the industrial complex image.

Furthermore, mini-clusters will be formed and operated to solve common difficulties of small and medium enterprises and enhance innovation capabilities, and customized corporate support R&D projects will be promoted.

Ahn Sanghyun, Director of the Economic Energy Bureau of Jeonnam Province, said, "The Gwangyang Bay industrial complex is the backbone of Jeonnam's economy but is a representative aging complex, so it is time to seek fundamental changes such as manufacturing innovation and fostering future new industries." He added, "As industrial intelligence and smart manufacturing have emerged as new themes due to COVID-19, we will establish a foundation for the chemical and steel industries' leap forward by innovating industrial complex processes, diversifying businesses, and improving advanced infrastructure in line with changing times."

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