Driving Changwon's Future for 50 Years... Securing 1.6102 Trillion Won in National Funding Next Year

Mayor Hong Nampyo, 13.1% Increase Compared to Previous Year's Original Budget

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, is announcing the status of the 2023 national budget. / Photo by Ryeong Lee

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam secured 1.6102 trillion KRW in national funding for next year, which will drive Changwon's future for the next 50 years.

On the 27th, Hong Nam-pyo, mayor of Changwon Special City, announced the status of the 2023 national budget secured by Changwon City and explained the main achievements and significance of this national funding, as well as future plans.

Mayor Hong explained that the 2023 government budget passed by the National Assembly last weekend includes 1.6102 trillion KRW in national funding for Changwon City, which is an increase of 186.3 billion KRW (13.1%) compared to the previous year's main budget of 1.4239 trillion KRW.

The major newly reflected budget projects include ▲seed budget projects to secure new future growth engines for Changwon ▲Changwon urban space restructuring projects ▲projects to improve the quality of life for Changwon citizens ▲and national budget projects of Gyeongnam Province, where Changwon is a beneficiary area.

The seed budget projects to secure new future growth engines include ▲planning service for the construction of a next-generation advanced composite beam inspection facility (500 million KRW) ▲construction of an AI and big data-based advanced medical and bio device research and manufacturing center (1 billion KRW) ▲pre-feasibility study for regional UAM demonstration experiments (1 billion KRW). If preliminary procedures proceed smoothly, the total project cost expected to be additionally secured amounts to 416.7 billion KRW. These are core projects that Changwon City aims to foster as future new growth engines.

▲The next-generation advanced composite beam inspection facility construction project is a fully national-funded project with 500 million KRW allocated for planning services, and the total project cost is expected to reach 390.7 billion KRW upon passing the preliminary feasibility study.

This project is an essential joint research facility for materials research and non-destructive testing, which are indispensable for the advanced defense industry in composite beam defense technology.

With the securing of this planning service budget, the first step toward building the advanced composite beam inspection facility has been taken, which will become a core facility of the ‘Changwon National Industrial Complex 2.0’ that Changwon City is focusing its administrative capabilities on.

▲The medical and bio advanced device research and manufacturing center construction project has been allocated 1 billion KRW. The total expected project cost is 25 billion KRW, of which 10 billion KRW is national funding.

The medical and bio advanced device research and manufacturing center is a facility that enters the first stage of future growth engine development by concentrating the manufacturing industry of high value-added medical and bio devices based on Changwon's competitive ultra-precision manufacturing industry.

This project was proactively proposed by Changwon City to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and included in the budget. It aims to gain an advantage in project selection during future ministry competitions and to diversify Changwon's industrial structure by fostering lightweight, small-scale advanced industries in addition to the current heavy, large-scale, and vertically integrated industrial system.

▲A pre-feasibility study for regional UAM demonstration experiments was also allocated 1 billion KRW.

This project is based on the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's urban air mobility grand challenge (K-UAM) demonstration project targeting commercialization in the metropolitan area by 2025. It aims to confirm the necessity of pilot UAM demonstration projects in local areas and was newly included following Changwon City's proposal to the ministry.

Changwon hosts the Korea Institute of Materials Science and the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute, which research core materials, electrical, and electronic components essential for the UAM industry. Additionally, companies that have researched and produced machinery and aircraft parts for the past 50 years are concentrated here. Given that this project was first proposed by the city to the ministry, it is expected to be advantageous for entering the promising future UAM industry.

For the Changwon urban space restructuring budget projects, ▲3 hundred million KRW was allocated for traffic volume analysis for the improvement of the Seomasan IC entrance and exit roads ▲1.4 billion KRW for the Buk-myeon Dalcheon Eco Green Park creation project ▲1.4 billion KRW for the Hoeseong district urban regeneration New Deal project.

For projects improving the quality of life for Changwon citizens, ▲2.9 billion KRW was secured for the construction of the 3rd columbarium at Changwon Municipal Sangbok Park ▲1.1 billion KRW for the comprehensive maintenance project of flood and wind disaster living zones in the Sinpo district.

National budget projects of Gyeongnam Province, where Changwon Special City is a beneficiary area, include ▲2 hundred million KRW for a feasibility study on the establishment of the Defense Parts Research Institute ▲240 million KRW for the construction of the Gyeongnam Nuclear Industry Comprehensive Support Center ▲300 million KRW for a study on toll reduction for the Geoje-Machang Bridge.

Major ongoing projects can be categorized into Changwon future growth engine creation projects, Changwon urban space restructuring projects, and projects to improve the quality of life for Changwon citizens.

Mayor Hong said, “We established the city's future development strategy and focused on national budget allocations that align with it, diversifying the institutions involved in national funding,” adding, “This is the result of comprehensive collaboration and cooperation by the ‘One Team Changwon City,’ including the city and members of the National Assembly. It is the outcome of persistently and thoroughly persuading the National Assembly and government departments at every stage of budget review.”

Explaining future plans, Mayor Hong said, “The budget secured in 2023 will be focused on ensuring that the seed budgets sprout through meticulous planning of preliminary feasibility study projects, leading to the securing of main projects for Changwon's future,” and “Starting early in 2023, we will proactively engage in project planning and discovery to secure the 2024 national budget, continuously conducting systematic and organized national budget securing activities throughout the year in coordination with the government departments' budget formulation schedules.”

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