Jinju City Holds Public Briefing on Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for Southern Inland High-Speed Railway

Preparations for Early Construction of Western Gyeongnam KTX Progress Smoothly, Resident Opinions Collected for City-Passed Sections

Jinju City Southern Inland High-Speed Railway (Western Gyeongnam KTX) Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Resident Briefing Session (Photo by Jinju City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] It was announced on the 27th that a resident briefing session on the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Report (draft) for the Southern Inland High-Speed Railway (hereinafter referred to as Western Gyeongnam KTX) was held at the Citizen Hall of Jinju City Hall, Gyeongnam.

On this day, about 80 people including Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il, government officials, local residents, and related public officials attended, and the session proceeded with explanations of the project plan and the draft assessment report by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the service company, followed by questions and answers.

In accordance with strengthened quarantine guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), thorough quarantine measures were implemented by the city, including limiting the number of attendees, temperature checks, and social distancing among participants.

At the resident briefing session, opinions of local residents and stakeholders affected by the Western Gyeongnam KTX project plan were collected, and explanations were given to residents regarding the impact on the natural and living environment and related measures.

The Western Gyeongnam KTX project plan and draft assessment report reflect the city's request to minimize complaints by utilizing the existing Jinju Station building for the approximately 30.1 km Jinju section and by undergrounding about 6.1 km section passing through the urban area and Namgang River.

An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, “We will sufficiently collect opinions from residents and experts by February 2 this year, finalize the main Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment Report in March, and enter the consultation process. Around May this year, we plan to complete the feasibility study and basic plan service and announce the entire railway line and station locations.”

The Western Gyeongnam KTX project is a project embodying the long-standing aspirations and hopes of local residents. The preliminary feasibility study was exempted on January 29, 2019, and currently, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is conducting the ‘feasibility study and basic plan establishment service.’

This year, the basic design will commence, followed by detailed design and construction next year, with completion scheduled for 2028. The total length is 187.3 km, with approximately 5.6064 trillion KRW invested.

Jinju Mayor Jo Gyu-il said, “The Western Gyeongnam KTX will be a new breakthrough for the revolutionary development of the underdeveloped region and an opportunity for Jinju to leap forward as the central city of the 1 million population living area in the southern central part of the Republic of Korea,” urging active participation and interest from citizens for early construction commencement.

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