The First Shovel of the 'Daejeo Bridge Construction Project'... Busan City Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony
Published 23 Oct.2024 07:44(KST)
Groundbreaking Ceremony at Daejeo Ecological Park on the 23rd at 11 AM... Over 300 Attendees Including Mayor and Local Residents
Mayor Park Hyung-jun: "Enhancing Busan's Value, Protecting Ecological Heritage, and Symbolizing Growth"
Busan City will hold the ‘Groundbreaking Ceremony for the Daejeo Bridge Construction Project’ at 11 a.m. on the 23rd at Daejeo Ecological Park.
About 300 people, including Mayor Park Hyung-joon, members of the National Assembly, district mayors, city council members, district council members, and local residents, will attend the groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the commencement of the Daejeo Bridge construction project.
The event will proceed for about 40 minutes in the order of the national anthem, introduction of guests, project progress report, commemorative speech, congratulatory remarks, and groundbreaking performance.
The Daejeo Bridge construction project involves building an 8.24 km road connecting Sikman-dong in Gangseo-gu to Samnak-dong in Sasang-gu’s Sasang Industrial Complex. It includes the construction of a total of eight bridges, including the Daejeo Bridge and Seonakdonggang Bridge crossing the Nakdong River, as well as three intersections.
Since 2014, the city has been promoting the Daejeo Bridge construction project to resolve chronic traffic congestion in the western Busan area and the resulting inconvenience to citizens. Although there were difficulties in coordinating with related agencies due to environmental concerns related to the construction of bridges crossing the Nakdong River, all major administrative procedures, including consultations this year, have been completed, and full-scale construction will begin with this groundbreaking ceremony.
Although the project’s feasibility was secured in April 2010 through the preliminary feasibility study by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, and the road route was finalized in 2016 through the strategic environmental impact assessment by the Ministry of Environment (Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office), the project had been stalled for seven years due to controversies over the impact on migratory bird habitats.
Accordingly, to expedite the project, the city re-planned and revised the project from scratch, gathering opinions from residents and experts, and prepared a main environmental impact assessment report including measures to reduce environmental impact such as winter migratory bird activities and habitat expansion. Based on this, environmental impact assessment consultations with the Ministry of Environment (Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office) were completed on January 17, and on August 1, the city received activity permits around the natural monument (Nakdong River lower migratory bird habitat) from the Cultural Heritage Administration.
Starting with this groundbreaking ceremony, the city plans to complete the Daejeo Bridge construction project by the end of 2029. In particular, the project plan will reflect the results of the environmental impact assessment consultations with the Ministry of Environment and the activity permit results around the natural monument from the Cultural Heritage Administration.
Mayor Park Hyung-joon said, “The groundbreaking of the Daejeo Bridge has opened the way for the Nakdong River bridge construction, which had not progressed for 10 years. This will be an important turning point for the Nakdong River bridge construction.” He added, “I ask for your continued interest and support so that the Daejeo Bridge will not only increase Busan’s value but also become a symbol of sustainable growth while preserving ecological heritage.”
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