Busan City Hosts the 1st Marine Smart City Forum ... Proposes Floating Marine Airport for Early Completion of Gadeokdo New Airport

Jointly Hosted by City-Hosted Maritime Smart City Creation Public-Private Joint Task Force and Future City Innovation Foundation

Poster of the 1st Maritime Smart City Forum.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City will hold the "1st Maritime Smart City Forum" on the 14th at 8 a.m. in the Crystal Ballroom on the 3rd floor of Lotte Hotel Seomyeon.

Hosted by Busan City and co-organized by the Maritime Smart City Creation Public-Private Joint Task Force (TF) and the Future City Innovation Foundation, the "1st Maritime Smart City Forum" will be held for the first time this year as a platform to explore ways to create maritime smart cities using floating infrastructure.

About 120 people, including Mayor Park Hyung-jun, TF members, foundation members, and public officials, are expected to attend.

The forum will feature a keynote presentation on "Proposal for a Floating Maritime Airport" by Professor Cho Yong-sik of Hanyang University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, followed by a panel discussion with Honorary Professor Kim Ga-ya of Dong-Eui University’s Department of Urban Engineering, Professor Song Hwa-cheol of Korea Maritime and Ocean University’s Department of Marine Spatial Architecture, Professor Lee Doo-hyung of Silla University’s Department of Air Traffic Management, and CEO Eom Hang-seop of Allside Data. The moderator will be Honorary Professor Shin Jong-gye of Seoul National University’s Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering.

The "Floating Maritime Airport" is a key project promoted by Busan City as an alternative for the early opening of Gadeokdo New Airport, with active discussions among experts in related fields. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which has been establishing the basic plan for Gadeokdo New Airport since August this year, plans to objectively review various opinions presented in the preliminary feasibility study without being constrained by construction period or construction methods (reclamation type, floating type, etc.) to prepare the optimal alternative.

The "Maritime Smart City Creation Public-Private Joint Task Force (TF)," which co-organized the forum, was formed to discuss and promote support plans for the creation of Gadeokdo New Airport’s early construction and maritime smart city development, as well as carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology (CCUS) using floating infrastructure, which are campaign pledges of Mayor Park Hyung-jun in the 8th local election. About 30 domestic and international experts are participating.

In October, the task force also held a "National Assembly Policy Forum for the Early Completion of Gadeokdo New Airport," hosted by National Assembly member Jeong Dong-man.

The "Future City Innovation Foundation" consists of various experts from the local economy, academia, and media, actively engaging in activities such as holding future city innovation forums and policy seminars aimed at preparing practical strategies for regional development.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun said, "Gadeokdo New Airport, a core infrastructure for Busan to leap forward as a global hub, will serve as a driving force for attracting the 2030 Busan World Expo and will be the starting point for creating a country that runs on not just one wheel but two or more." He added, "I hope that various discussions like this forum, combined with the efforts of the nation and Busan City, will lead to the early completion of Gadeokdo New Airport."

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