2025 Completion Scheduled 'Suncheon New Government Building' Delay Inevitable Amid Criticism of Inconsistent Administration

Last Day for Bidder Document Submission Abruptly Cancels Bid Announcement... Reason for Integrated to Separate Ordering

Frontline Construction Industry "Difficult to Separate Ordering Due to Characteristics of Large-Scale, High-Difficulty 'Detailed

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The completion of the new city hall in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do, introduced as the "Suncheon Citizens' House to embrace the next 100 years of Suncheon's future," is inevitably delayed.

Criticism has also arisen, calling it "inconsistent administration," as the bid announcement for selecting the construction company was canceled midway.

According to Suncheon City on the 18th, the city is proceeding with the new city hall construction project with an investment of about 200 billion KRW on a site area of 26,758㎡ in Jangcheon-dong, with a total floor area of 47,048㎡, consisting of one basement floor and six above-ground floors.

To encourage participation from capable companies, the city selected the "technical proposal bidding" method for detailed design, signed a tailored service agreement for facility construction with the Public Procurement Service in June, and completed the review of the bidding guide in August.

The bid announcement was made on the 23rd of last month. However, on the last day for document submission by the applying companies, the 14th, just two hours before the deadline, the bid announcement was suddenly canceled.

Originally, the city announced the bid as an "integrated order," but it is known that they intended to change it to a "separate order."

Changing such an important start of a large-scale construction project for the new city hall, which will lead Suncheon for the next 100 years, as easily as flipping a hand has sparked criticism of the administration.

The technical proposal bidding method is a bidding process where bidders review the design documents provided by the ordering agency and submit a technical proposal along with the bid documents. It is applied to facilities requiring creativity such as symbolism, commemorativeness, and artistry, or those requiring high-level technical skills.

According to construction industry insiders, technical proposal bidding involves comprehensive review and analysis of architecture, structure, civil engineering, landscaping, electrical, information and communication, and fire protection fields, evaluating submitted technical proposals to decide the detailed designer and contractor, making separate ordering practically difficult.

It is known that there have been no cases of separate ordering in technical proposal bidding projects such as the 2019 Mokpo Stadium construction, 2020 Changwon Hyeondong public housing construction, Gyeonggi Urban Corporation convergence center construction, Pyeongtaek Peace Arts Center construction, Busan International Art Center construction, 2021 Gokseong-gun new city hall construction, and 2022 Narakeum Daejeon integrated government building new construction.

Construction industry insiders expect that if large-scale construction projects proceed with separate ordering, coordination and construction management among architectural contractors, electrical, and information communication companies will be difficult.

Ultimately, separate ordering of technical bidding is practically difficult, and if separated, it contradicts the purpose of technical bidding and makes it impossible to efficiently manage high-difficulty large-scale construction projects.

The project, originally scheduled for completion by the end of 2025, is inevitably postponed to early 2026.

Regarding this, a Suncheon City official explained, "The original integrated order was for the speed of separate subcontracting and responsibility for defects, but after consulting and reviewing with related organizations such as electrical, communication, and fire protection, it was judged that separate ordering is better. We have also completed the overall legal interpretation and see that proceeding with separate ordering is more beneficial for small and medium enterprises."

He added, "It is expected to be delayed by 2 to 3 months, and we will do our best for a prompt and transparent project."

However, construction industry insiders explain that if the project proceeds with separate ordering, coordination among companies during construction may occur, likely delaying the completion date beyond 2 to 3 months, and criticism of the administration that caused controversy from the start of the project is unavoidable.

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