Park Hyungjoon, Mayor of Busan: "Gadeokdo New Airport Is Core Infrastructure for Korea and Busan's Global Competitiveness"

Commencement of Basic Design for Site Development Project

"Significant Increase in Participation by Busan-Based Companies"

The basic design for the site development project of Gadeokdo New Airport has officially commenced.

The city of Busan (Mayor Park Hyungjoon) announced on March 5 that the Daewoo E&C Consortium, which was selected as the preferred bidder through a private contract for the site development project of Gadeokdo New Airport, will begin the basic design on March 9.

According to the city of Busan, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced its plan for bidding on the site development project of Gadeokdo New Airport in November last year and issued two public tenders, both of which failed to attract successful bids. Subsequently, the Daewoo E&C Consortium was designated as the contractor through private negotiations.

The project implementer, Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation, will hold a site briefing on March 9. Over the following six months, the Daewoo E&C Consortium will carry out the basic design and the detailed design for the initial construction segments. The total construction period is set at 106 months, with groundbreaking for the initial construction expected in the second half of this year and the goal of opening the airport in the second half of 2035.

The participation of Daewoo E&C, the lead manager of the Gadeokdo New Airport construction project, is considered significant as it is expected to reduce concerns regarding the complexity of the project and secure a stable foundation for implementation.

Daewoo E&C expressed confidence in the progress of the project, stating, "There are no issues whatsoever in carrying out the construction." The company explained that it is fully capable of handling the challenging aspects, such as soft ground and offshore reclamation, thanks to its accumulated technological expertise and experience.

Daewoo E&C ranked first in the civil engineering sector for the past two years and first in the port sector for the past three years in the construction company performance evaluations. Internationally, the company has gained experience managing ultra-soft ground reclamation and subsidence control through the Al Faw Grand Port project in Iraq, while domestically it has acquired experience with soft ground construction and offshore works near Gadeokdo through the Geoga Bridge immersed tunnel construction.

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of this large-scale national airport project, the company is also conducting preliminary preparations, including reviewing optimal construction methods for soft ground treatment.

The participation of local companies in the Daewoo E&C Consortium has also increased, which is expected to contribute to the revitalization of the regional economy. Compared to the Hyundai E&C Consortium, the shareholding ratio for Busan-based companies rose by 10.3 percentage points (from 8% to 18.3%), and their participation amount increased by KRW 1.1189 trillion (from KRW 842.4 billion to KRW 1.9613 trillion). In addition, participation in this largest-ever and highly challenging civil engineering project is expected to help enhance the technological capabilities and competitiveness of the local construction industry.

Park Hyungjoon, Mayor of Busan, stated, "We welcome the commencement of the basic design for the site development project by the Daewoo E&C Consortium. The Gadeokdo New Airport is a core infrastructure project that will drive balanced national development and dramatically enhance the global competitiveness of both Korea and Busan."

He added, "We will make every effort to construct a safe and high-quality Gadeokdo New Airport with the functions of a gateway airport for the southern region, by working closely with related agencies to ensure that the project proceeds without setbacks."

Aerial perspective of Gadeokdo New Airport.

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