Jeon Hae-cheol Visits Hydrogen Hub 'Ansan Hydrogen Pilot City'... Seeking Blueprint for Aging Industrial Complex

Meeting Held with Entrepreneurs from Banwol and Siwha National Industrial Complexes

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has officially launched the "National Tour for Regional Balanced New Deal" to promote field-centered regional balanced New Deal policies that local communities can truly feel. This tour was initiated for Minister Jeon Hae-cheol to visit sites in person, listen to the opinions of businesspeople and local governments, and reflect the voices from the field in the regional balanced New Deal policies.

On the 11th, Minister Jeon visited the groundbreaking ceremony of the hydrogen pilot city in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, and the completion ceremony of the Hydrogen e-Ro-um charging station as his first step. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Ansan Mayor Yoon Hwa-seop, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, National Assembly members Kim Cheol-min, Ko Young-in, Kim Nam-guk, officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office, and members of the Ansan City Council.

Ansan was designated as a hydrogen pilot city by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2019, along with Ulsan, Jeonju, and Wanju. Since then, a master plan has been established up to last year, and with today's groundbreaking ceremony, the project to install fuel cells and other facilities officially begins. Additionally, Ansan City established the Ansan-type Green New Deal plan in January and plans to promote projects such as the Daebu Island distributed grid construction project, Pungdo offshore wind power project, and energy efficiency improvement projects for low-income households in connection with the hydrogen city.

Minister Jeon emphasized the importance of fostering the hydrogen new industry in the post-COVID era, where carbon neutrality has become the new normal in the international community, stating, "Hydrogen is the most abundant and energy-efficient element on Earth and a promising alternative to replace fossil fuels." He added, "The hydrogen economy will not only transform the daily lives of Ansan residents into low-carbon and eco-friendly ones in the long term, including transportation and housing, but also become a new growth engine for Ansan," congratulating the groundbreaking of the hydrogen city.

Minister Jeon then moved to the Hydrogen e-Ro-um charging station, where he completed the groundbreaking ceremony after demonstrating hydrogen vehicle refueling and test-driving hydrogen vehicles together with Ansan Mayor Yoon Hwa-seop and Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung.

Following this, Minister Jeon held a meeting with businesspeople from the Banwol-Sihwa National Industrial Complex to explore ways to revitalize regional industrial complexes through the regional balanced New Deal. The Banwol-Sihwa National Industrial Complex has traditionally been strong in materials, parts, and equipment, and was recently selected for the old industrial complex renovation project. It is expected to be developed focusing on next-generation core materials and parts related to system semiconductors and future vehicles.

Gyeonggi Province is also supporting the "Gyeonggi-type Industrial Complex Green New Deal" to transform the industrial complex into a renewable energy-centered complex through smart demand management, energy self-sufficiency and efficiency improvement, and distributed power sources. Ansan City is also promoting a project to support businesses with the installation costs of solar power generation facilities.

At the meeting, companies expressed interest in support measures such as regulatory innovation and regional New Deal venture funds, emphasizing that manufacturing innovation is crucial in the post-COVID era. They also requested financial support comparable to that for self-employed businesses and improvements in employment-related regulations, citing many companies struggling due to COVID-19.

Minister Jeon stated, "If various local entities like the Banwol-Sihwa Industrial Complex utilize regional resources and cooperate with each other to create successful cases, the regional balanced New Deal will evolve further." He added, "We will spare no administrative or financial support so that local governments can implement the Korean New Deal locally and create creative success stories."

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