Green Light for Hwaseong 'Maesong-Dongtan' Expressway... Passes Private Investment Eligibility Review

10.63 km Expressway to Connect Maesong Wonpyeong and Bansong
Travel Time to Be Cut from 50 to 26 Minutes
Jeong Myeonggeun: "Internal Circulation Road Network Gains Momentum...
Aiming for 30-Minute Intra-City Travel"

The 'Maesong~Dongtan Expressway' project, which will connect the eastern and western regions of Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, has received the green light.

According to Hwaseong City on August 21, the 'Maesong~Dongtan Expressway Private Investment Project' recently passed the private investment eligibility review conducted by the Public and Private Infrastructure Investment Management Center of the Korea Development Institute (KDI).

This expressway is considered a route that will dramatically improve the relatively weak connection between the western and eastern parts of Hwaseong. The plan calls for a 10.63 km, four-lane expressway branching off from the Saemnae IC on the Bibong-Maesong Road and connecting to Banjeong-dong and Dongtanwoncheon-ro.

The total project cost is 689.1 billion won (based on constant prices as of January 2020), and it was proposed in April 2020 as a profit-sharing (BTO-a) private investment project.

From October last year to June this year, the city conducted a private investment eligibility review to examine the project's feasibility and the appropriateness of the private investment method. The KDI review concluded that both the project's feasibility and private investment eligibility were secured.

The city expects that once the new route is established, travel time between the two regions will be reduced by nearly half, from 50 minutes to 26 minutes. In addition, the dispersion of vehicles is expected to alleviate traffic congestion on existing main roads. In particular, securing this much-needed east-west connection is anticipated to contribute to the development of a metropolitan transportation network and balanced regional growth.

Furthermore, with residential development projects such as Bongdam 3 District, Hyohaeng District, and Jin'an District underway nearby, and the city’s population expected to reach 1.55 million by 2040, the expressway is expected to effectively accommodate increasing traffic demand and serve as a key arterial road connecting urban axes.

In response to passing this review, the city plans to promptly proceed with the next step: the strategic environmental impact assessment. Afterward, it will move forward with a third-party proposal announcement, negotiations, and design, aiming to begin construction as early as the end of 2028.

Hwaseong Mayor Jeong Myeonggeun stated, "With the feasibility of the Hwaseong~Osan and Maesong~Dongtan expressways secured, starting with the Balan~Namyang Expressway, the establishment of an 'internal circulation road network' in Hwaseong will accelerate. We will realize the era of 30-minute travel within the city by connecting key hubs of major new towns."

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