Daegu and Gwangju Selected as 'Urban Convergence Special Zones'... Creating High-Density Innovation Spaces

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The candidate sites for the Urban Convergence Special Zones proposed by Daegu Metropolitan City and Gwangju Metropolitan City have been selected as the project sites for the Urban Convergence Special Zone initiative.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 22nd that at the 30th plenary session of the National Balanced Development Committee, it reported the candidate sites proposed by Daegu and Gwangju and made this decision.

The Urban Convergence Special Zone project aims to create high-density innovation spaces equipped with excellent mixed infrastructure such as industry, housing, and culture, similar to 'Pangyo 2 Valley,' to attract companies and talent to the downtown areas of regional large cities.

The areas selected as project districts for the Urban Convergence Special Zone this time are those proposed as optimal sites by Daegu and Gwangju, comprehensively considering the purpose of the Urban Convergence Special Zone project and local conditions.

The Daegu Urban Convergence Special Zone project district (approximately 980,000㎡) consists of three locations: the site of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government relocation (about 140,000㎡), Kyungpook National University (about 750,000㎡), and Samsung Creative Campus (about 90,000㎡), all located within the existing downtown area of Daegu with excellent accessibility to KTX Dongdaegu Station.

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Government relocation site is the core hub of the Daegu Urban Convergence Special Zone project district. It is expected that the adjacent Kyungpook National University and Samsung Creative Campus, which currently perform industry-academia-research functions, will have high potential for linkage with the Urban Convergence Special Zone.

The Gwangju Urban Convergence Special Zone project district (approximately 850,000㎡) is located in the western part of the Sangmu district, where the city hall is situated, and consists of currently used sites (about 250,000㎡) such as the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center and Sangmu Citizen's Park, as well as large-scale idle lands (about 600,000㎡) including the old Sangmu incineration plant and farmland.

About half of the large-scale developable idle land (approximately 290,000㎡) is owned by the city and the Urban Development Corporation, enabling rapid establishment of the Urban Convergence Special Zone.

The Sangmu district area is a new downtown area frequently visited by local youth. It is expected to have high potential for linkage with the Urban Convergence Special Zone along with fostering regional innovation industries connected to Naju Innovation City and Chonnam National University.

The Ministry of Land plans to support a budget of 300 million KRW per site for basic plan establishment in Daegu and Gwangju starting from February next year.

Additionally, consultations will continue with Busan, Daejeon, and Ulsan to discover suitable areas for Urban Convergence Special Zones, with plans to select additional project districts next year.

Park Mu-ik, Director of the Land and Urban Office at the Ministry of Land, said, "Creative imagination and steady efforts from all related parties, including the government and local governments, are necessary so that the Urban Convergence Special Zone can act as a momentum for a rebound that pioneers new avenues for the regional economy."

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