GTX-C Line Signs 'Implementation Agreement' After Over 2 Years... Construction to Start Within the Year

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Hyundai Construction will sign an implementation agreement for the Metropolitan Area Express Railway (GTX) Line C. This comes more than two years after Hyundai Construction was selected as the preferred negotiation partner.

GTX-C Route Map. [Source=Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport]

On the 21st, the Ministry of Land and Hyundai Construction announced that they will hold a signing ceremony for the implementation agreement for the construction of GTX Line C at 2 p.m. on the 22nd at COEX in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Accordingly, the GTX Line C, which will be constructed with a total of 14 stations from Deokjeong Station in Yangju to Suwon Station (covering a total length of 86.46 km), is expected to begin construction within this year.

Previously, it passed the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s Private Investment Review Committee last month, and next month it is scheduled to undergo a VE (Value Engineering) review for the detailed design route. If no issues are found at that time, it will proceed through the design qualification review and start construction within the year. The target opening is the first half of 2028.

The GTX Line C project has experienced considerable twists and turns. Initially, after Hyundai Construction was selected as the preferred negotiation partner in June 2021, the implementation agreement was planned to be signed by the end of that year, but it was delayed by about 20 months due to conflicts with some residents near the route.

First, controversy over whether the section from Changdong Station to Dobongsan Station would be aboveground or underground caused delays. In October 2020, the government-approved basic plan for Line C designated this section as underground, but in the ‘Basic Plan for Private Investment Facility Projects’ for selecting the private investor, this section was changed to aboveground, leading to conflicts with residents. Eventually, after audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection and a feasibility study by the Korea Development Institute (KDI), it was concluded in May to be underground.

Conflicts over whether to pass underground beneath Eunma Apartments were also problematic. Some residents of Eunma Apartments, concerned about safety issues from underground construction, demanded a route change, causing difficulties. However, the Ministry of Land and Hyundai Construction maintained the existing route, stating that since the tunnel passes at a depth of 50 meters underground, there are no significant safety concerns, and there is no suitable alternative route.

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