'Stranded Crisis' Baengnyeong Airport Construction... Incheon Ongjin-gun Requests "Selection as Preliminary Feasibility Study Target"

Aerial view of Solgae reclamation site, Jinchon-ri, Baengnyeong-myeon, Ongjin-gun, planned site for Baengnyeong Airport construction

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Ongjin-gun, Incheon, has urged the government to select the Baengnyeong Airport project, which is on the brink of being stranded, as a target for a preliminary feasibility study.

According to Ongjin-gun on the 4th, County Governor Jang Jeong-min visited the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 29th of last month to deliver a petition with this content along with signatures from about 2,000 residents. Along with this, Governor Jang also delivered a joint petition urging the selection of the Baengnyeong Airport project as a preliminary feasibility study target, which was recently adopted by the Border Area Mayors and County Governors Council and the Incheon Area Mayors and District Heads Council.

This project was submitted for review twice last year at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance’s National Fiscal Evaluation Committee but was rejected due to reasons such as the sluggish progress of new airport development projects in other regions.

The National Fiscal Evaluation Committee decides whether to conduct a preliminary feasibility study for large-scale national projects costing over 50 billion KRW. Passing this review is required to receive a preliminary feasibility study that determines whether national funding will be invested.

In a pre-feasibility study conducted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2017, the Baengnyeong Airport project secured economic feasibility with a B/C (Benefit-Cost) ratio of 2.19, significantly exceeding the standard value of 1.

Residents of the West Sea Five Islands, including Baengnyeong, Daecheong, and Socheongdo, have been urging the prompt construction of Baengnyeong Airport through a signature campaign since the end of last year after the project was again excluded from the preliminary feasibility study target selection. Additionally, the Incheon Mayors and District Heads Council announced a joint petition urging the construction of Baengnyeong Airport on the 12th of last month, and the Border Area Mayors and County Governors Council held in Goseong, Gangwon Province on the 21st also adopted a joint petition with the same content.

The Baengnyeong Airport project involves building a small airport with a 1.2 km long and 30 m wide runway and a passenger terminal on a 254,000㎡ site in Baengnyeongdo, the northernmost island of the West Sea, at a cost of 174 billion KRW. It has been promoted since 2013 to resolve residents' inconveniences caused by frequent cancellations of passenger ships, promote balanced national development, and create tourism demand.

Ongjin-gun expects that once Baengnyeong Airport is constructed, island residents will be able to use a 50-seat aircraft to reach Seoul Gimpo Airport in just one hour instead of taking a passenger ship that takes four hours from Incheon Port.

Governor Jang Jeong-min of Ongjin-gun said, "Residents and the Border Area Mayors and County Governors Council are supporting the promotion of Baengnyeong Airport construction," adding, "We will actively respond to the upcoming preliminary feasibility study and do our best to ensure that the residents' wishes are realized."

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