Gwangju City Officially Advances Construction of Korea Swimming Promotion Center

Passed Ministry of the Interior and Safety Local Finance Investment Review... Total Investment of 37 Billion KRW, Scheduled for Completion in 2023

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 5th that the construction project of the Korea Swimming Promotion Center, one of the legacy projects commemorating the successful hosting of the 2019 Gwangju World Swimming Championships, has passed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's 3rd Local Finance Investment Review and will be actively promoted.

The Korea Swimming Promotion Center will be built with a total project cost of 37 billion KRW (10.2 billion KRW from the national government, 23.8 billion KRW from the city, and 3 billion KRW from the private sector), covering a total floor area of 8,755㎡ and three above-ground floors. The center will include a swimming pool, an international sports memorial hall, and facilities for community sports. It will serve as a facility supporting swimming for nearby residents, survival swimming education for elementary school students, and hosting nationwide Gwangju swimming competitions.

Last December, through a public contest among autonomous districts, Nambu University, where the swimming, diving, and water polo events of the Gwangju World Swimming Championships were held, was selected as the construction site. Administrative procedures such as shared property management plans, approval for building construction within the school, and surface rights establishment permits have been completed.

However, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Local Finance Investment Review twice rejected the project due to reasons including "reconsideration of site suitability considering nearby overlapping facilities and adjustment of facility scale considering the demand from professional athletes."

Gwangju City, through close consultation and consulting with related organizations such as central government agencies and the Local Investment Project Management Center, reflected the review opinions and re-challenged the 3rd Local Finance Investment Review, successfully passing it.

Accordingly, with the major administrative procedures completed, the Korea Swimming Promotion Center construction project is scheduled to start the construction agreement with Nambu University within this month, followed by supplementary basic planning services, commencement of detailed design services in 2021, groundbreaking in 2022, and completion in 2023.

Kim Jun-young, Director of the Culture, Tourism, and Sports Office of the city, said, "With the Korea Swimming Promotion Center construction becoming full-scale, we will do our best to develop related programs to not only host the annually held Gwangju Swimming Championships but also attract many nationwide swimming competitions, strengthen the city brand, and contribute to revitalizing the local commercial district linked to the tourism industry."

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