Five Cities and Counties in Gyeongnam Jointly Submit Petition for Early Construction of the Southern Inland Railroad

Joint Press Conference for Early Commencement of the Southern Inland Railroad Construction Project by Five Mayors and County Governors.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] Representatives from five cities and counties in Gyeongnam, through which the Southern Inland Railway connecting Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk, and Geoje passes, gathered to jointly request the early commencement of the project.

Byun Gwang-yong, Mayor of Geoje, Kang Seok-ju, Mayor of Tongyeong, Baek Doo-hyun, County Governor of Goseong, Jeong Jun-seok, Deputy Mayor of Jinju, and Choi Yong-nam, Deputy County Governor of Hapcheon, announced a joint petition at the Gyeongnam Provincial Government Press Center on the 2nd.

In the petition, they stated, "The Southern Inland Railway construction project, a long-cherished wish of the 3.4 million residents of Gyeongnam Province, is currently unable to gain momentum due to reviews of station locations and route changes, raising significant concerns and fears that the project might be canceled."

They continued, "The five cities and counties hope that the Southern Inland Railway construction project will proceed smoothly, serving as a catalyst for balanced regional development and revitalizing the Gyeongnam regional economy, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19."

Specifically, they requested that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport finalize the basic plan, which includes the optimal solutions reflecting various opinions submitted by local residents regarding route changes, as soon as possible.

They also urged related government departments to actively collaborate and support the administrative procedures to be undertaken for the early commencement of the project, and asked local residents to cease inter-regional conflicts and cooperate to ensure the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's basic plan is completed promptly.

The five cities and counties emphasized their commitment to acting as a bridge between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Gyeongnam Province to resolve complaints arising from decisions on stations and routes as much as possible.

They prepared this joint petition on the day after the feasibility study and basic plan establishment service for the Southern Inland Railway construction project was postponed to October last month on the 17th.

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