Yeosu-Namhae Undersea Tunnel, Groundbreaking This Year and Full Construction in the Second Half

Secured 48.6 Billion KRW in National Funding for 2023

Total Project Cost 697.4 Billion KRW, Scheduled for Completion by 2031

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon] The underwater tunnel (National Route 77) connecting Yeosu in Jeollanam-do and Namhae in Gyeongsangnam-do will officially begin construction in the second half of this year.

According to Yeosu City (Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong), the underwater tunnel project is a national government-funded project with a total budget of 697.4 billion KRW. It will include a 5.93 km underwater tunnel and a total length of 7.31 km of new four-lane road, and will be promoted under the supervision of the Busan Regional Construction and Management Administration.

After passing the preliminary feasibility study in August 2021, the project went through a large-scale construction bidding announcement by the Public Procurement Service last September and is currently in the bidding process using the turnkey (design and construction integrated) method.

For the pre-qualification document submission for bidding, three companies?DL E&C, POSCO Construction, and Lotte Construction?have each formed consortia and are reportedly conducting basic design work to submit bidding documents.

Once the qualified design and construction contractor is selected in May this year, full-scale construction is expected to begin in the second half of the year.

Meanwhile, according to an analysis report on the expected effects of the underwater tunnel released by the Gwangju Jeonnam Research Institute in December last year, the travel time between Yeosu and Namhae, which used to take 70 minutes, will be reduced to under 10 minutes.

This will activate human and material exchanges between Yeosu and Namhae, reduce traffic accidents, improve residential conditions, and is expected to create synergy effects in the tourism sector as well.

A city official stated, “With the opening of the Yeosu-Namhae underwater tunnel, the last disconnected section of National Route 77 (from Paju, Gyeonggi-do to Busan), a maritime tourism traffic route along the southern and western coasts, will be connected, securing continuity in tourism.” He added, “We expect Yeosu City’s role as a key city on the southern coast to grow further, and we will continue to cooperate with the Busan Regional Construction and Management Administration and Namhae County to ensure the project proceeds on schedule.”

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon hss79@asiae.co.kr

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