Expansion of Happy City Metropolitan Planning Area from '9 to 22'... "Foundation for Chungcheong Region Development"

Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Area Amendment Proposal (Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The 'Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Zone' will be expanded from the existing 9 cities and counties (area 3,597㎢) to 22 cities and counties (12,193㎢).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Administrative City Construction Agency announced on the 6th that they held the 55th Happiness City Construction Promotion Committee meeting and reviewed and approved the amendment plan for the Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Zone.

The government designates metropolitan planning zones to link functions between Happiness City and adjacent areas, preserve the environment, and systematically organize metropolitan facilities, and establishes the highest-level urban plan, the metropolitan urban plan.

Since the Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Zone was first designated in 2006, the need for reorganization has continuously been raised due to changes in policy conditions such as the launch of Sejong Special Self-Governing City and overlapping issues with other metropolitan planning zones such as Daejeon area, Cheongju area, and Gongju station area.

To resolve this, the Happiness Agency and four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region formed a Metropolitan Win-Win Development Policy Council and have been discussing closely, also coordinating with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Office for Government Policy Coordination.

The new Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Zone includes the overlapping Daejeon, Cheongju, and Gongju station areas with the existing Happiness City zone, and adds some cities and counties capable of linked development with Happiness City, expanding to a total of 22 cities and counties.

The government expects this to resolve overlapping issues between metropolitan planning zones, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Happiness City zone, and lay the foundation for win-win development in the Chungcheong region.

It is also expected to serve as a catalyst for the implementation of ultra-wide cooperation and mega-city concepts, which are recently being discussed as new national balanced development strategies.

Once the amendment plan for the Happiness City Metropolitan Planning Zone is officially announced in the government gazette later this month, the Happiness Agency plans to establish the metropolitan urban plan for the Happiness City zone by the end of the year through public hearings and reviews by the Happiness City Construction Promotion Committee.

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