Seoul Grand Park Lift Ends 30-Year History... Replaced by Gondola

The over 30-year-old Sky Lift at Seoul Grand Park will be replaced by a gondola.

On the 16th, according to Seoul City and the Seoul Metropolitan Council, the city recently submitted the "Seoul Grand Park Gondola Private Investment Project Consent Proposal" as an agenda item to the city council. This is to confirm whether to proceed with the installation of the gondola at the Grand Park as a private investment project after obtaining the council's consent.

The project has passed approval from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Local Investment Review Committee and the Seoul City Financial Planning Deliberation Committee this year. After obtaining consent from the city council, the Grand Park will negotiate with the preferred bidder to finalize the total project cost, gondola usage fees, and profitability, and then begin the process of dismantling the lift and replacing it with the gondola.

The Seoul Grand Park lift began operation in 1991. Currently, due to aging, there is a risk of accidents, and there is no space to accommodate strollers or wheelchairs for the disabled, making it difficult for transportation-vulnerable groups to use. It is also easily affected by weather conditions such as heavy rain or snow, and there is a concern about accidents involving falls from the lift.

Seoul Grand Park Lift
[Image source=Yonhap News]

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Accordingly, the Grand Park plans to replace the entire approximately 1.75 km section of the lift, which runs from the parking lot to the zoo entrance and the carnivore enclosure housing tigers, leopards, and lynxes, with enclosed gondolas.

The enclosed gondolas, which have roofs, are not affected by weather and have a transportation capacity of up to 2,400 people per hour, which is better than the lift's 1,350 people. They can also accommodate strollers and wheelchairs.

The Grand Park also attempted to install gondolas once in 2016, but the project was put on hold. The reason was that the project was not economically viable because the operating period was short despite the huge costs, making it difficult for companies to recover their investment. Therefore, this time, the project’s viability was improved by allowing for management and operation for 30 years after installation.

A Grand Park official stated, "If we receive approval from the city council, we expect to issue a detailed bidding announcement by the end of this year or early next year."

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