"I Lost All My Assets" Australian Land Worth 10 Billion Won Now 850 Won... Due to Government Land Use Change

Land Prices Soar Due to Past Airport Site Selection
Commercial Development Ban... Environmental Zone Landowners Complain of Losses

Photo by Yonhap News Agency, Investor Forum for the Development of the New Airport at Bezzaris Creek, Sydney, Australia

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Two years ago, a piece of land valued at as much as 12 million Australian dollars (about 10 billion KRW) plummeted to just 1 dollar (about 850 KRW) due to a government land-use change.

According to foreign media including Australia's ABC on the 10th, the New South Wales government recently changed the land use around the planned new airport site in western Sydney, near Badgerys Creek, to an environmental zone, causing real estate prices to collapse.

This is because commercial development is prohibited once an area is designated as an environmental zone.

The landowner of a 4-hectare (40,000㎡) farmland designated as an environmental zone, Mr. Theo Koutsomihalis, suffered significant damage from this land-use change.

The prime land, which was listed for sale at 12 million dollars in 2018, now has no buyers even at the price of just 1 dollar, Mr. Theo Koutsomihalis said, expressing his despair over the recent land-use change.

Mr. Theo said, "The entire farm was designated 100% as an environmental zone, making it completely worthless land. When I requested an official appraisal, the appraised value was only 1 dollar."

He added, "I have lost all my assets," and expressed anger, saying, "Causing the land price to collapse like this is tantamount to theft."

Earlier, the New South Wales government divided the area around the Badgerys Creek new airport, scheduled for completion in 2026, into ten zones including agricultural, environmental, business, and infrastructure zones.

Among these, landowners in the areas designated as environmental zones had to endure a collapse in real estate prices. As a result, the landowners are strongly opposing by urging the New South Wales Parliament to re-examine the new airport development plan.

Meanwhile, farmland prices around the new airport site surged by about 60% in 2014 when the Australian federal government selected the Badgerys Creek area as the new airport site.

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