Busan Port Authority to Spend 1.7 Billion Won to Prevent 'COVID Shutdown' at Busan Port

Support for Expanding Waiting Rooms for 'Con' Wharf Workers to Prevent COVID-19 Spread at Port Sites

Busan Port Authority (BPA).

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan Port Authority (BPA, President Nam Ki-chan) has decided to promptly expand the waiting rooms for workers by supporting the operators of Busan Port's container-only terminals.

BPA made this support decision to proactively prevent the spread of COVID-19 within the port and ensure uninterrupted operation of the container terminals.

This support is being promoted to prevent a shutdown of Busan Port, the largest trading port in South Korea, which handles about 78% of the country's total container import and export cargo volume, due to COVID-19 or other reasons.

BPA plans to support the container terminal operators with construction costs for waiting rooms.

Due to the nature of the 24-hour operation of the container terminals at Busan Port, dozens of workers share waiting rooms for rest and standby.

Therefore, if a COVID-19 case occurs, a chain spread could paralyze the entire port operation, a national infrastructure facility.

Although the need to separate workers' waiting rooms has been raised, container terminal operators have faced difficulties investing in new facilities due to a decrease in cargo volume and challenging business conditions.

Busan Port Authority plans to secure up to approximately 1.7 billion KRW from the annual rental fees of container terminals to support the expansion of waiting rooms.

With BPA's decision to support construction, container terminal operators can accelerate the expansion of waiting rooms by introducing mobile container houses, remodeling idle buildings, or constructing new buildings tailored to the terminal site.

Busan Port Authority is implementing support measures totaling 33.6 billion KRW (as of September 2020) for various related industries, including passenger services, companies in hinterland complexes, and stevedoring companies, which are experiencing difficulties due to the impact of COVID-19.

President Nam Ki-chan said, “We will continuously manage the port site to prevent the inflow and spread of COVID-19 in the trading port and actively improve the difficulties faced by companies based in Busan Port to create a Busan Port that operates 24/7 without stopping.”

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