Yeosu~Namhae Undersea Tunnel, National Plan Finally Confirmed

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Announces 5th National and Local Road Construction Plan Including Undersea Tunnel

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Sim Kyung-taek] The underwater tunnel project between Yeosu, Jeollanam-do and Namhae has been finally confirmed as a new project promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

On the 28th, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, "The '5th National Road and Local Road Construction Plan,' which includes national and local road projects to be newly promoted over five years, and the '2nd Road Management Plan,' which contains policy directions for road management to realize future-oriented roads, were finalized after review by the Road Policy Deliberation Committee."

With this decision by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the 'Yeosu-Namhae Underwater Tunnel' has been confirmed as a national plan and can be promoted early as a priority project.

On this day, the Ministry announced a total investment plan of 10 trillion KRW for 116 new construction projects in the 5th plan. Compared to the 4th construction plan, the total investment scale increased by 600 billion KRW.

The 116 projects included in the plan were confirmed for promotion after candidate section selection, feasibility review by a specialized research institute (Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements), investment priority decision, and comprehensive preliminary feasibility studies.

The Ministry explained that in the 5th plan, projects were selected according to four major promotion strategies including balanced development promotion and safety enhancement, aiming to expand "inter-regional connecting roads and roads closely related to daily life within regions."

First, to strengthen mobility between regions, the plan promotes connecting disconnected sections of national roads and improving deteriorated roads in island and border areas.

Representative projects include the construction of an underwater tunnel and a sea bridge (Noeul Bridge) to connect the disconnected sections of National Road No. 77 between Yeosu Shindeok and Namhae Seomyeon, and between Gochang Haeri and Buan Byeonsan, significantly reducing travel time between regions. Additionally, facility improvements will be promoted for the deteriorated section of National Road No. 2 between Sinan Amtae Sugok and Sinseok.

The Yeosu Shindeok-Namhae Seomyeon underwater tunnel is a new four-lane project with a total length of 7.3 km and a project cost of 682.4 billion KRW.

In particular, the Ministry announced plans to start establishing basic plans within the year for three projects requiring difficult construction such as sea bridges or underwater tunnels within the project sections: Yeosu Shindeok-Namhae Seomyeon (National Road No. 77), Gochang Haeri-Buan Byeonsan (National Road No. 77), and Sinan Bigeum-Amtae (National Road No. 2).

After establishing the basic plan, the project will proceed through the 'large-scale construction bidding method review' process.

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Sim Kyung-taek simkt7@asiae.co.kr

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