Rep. Sung Iljong: "Taean Expressway Construction Project Now Within Reach"

Seong Iljong, Member of the National Assembly. /Office of the Member

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National Assembly member Lee Sungjong (Seosan and Taean, South Chungcheong Province) announced on the 30th, "The construction project for the Taean Expressway, a long-awaited wish of the people of Taean, has come within reach."

Despite being a tourist destination with pristine nature that attracts 17 to 18 million visitors annually, Taean-gun is the only region in Chungcheongnam-do without both an expressway and a railway, making national highways the sole transportation network.

As a result, tourists visiting Taean from other regions must travel by expressway only as far as Seosan, and then continue to Taean via national roads, causing inconvenience.

To resolve this long-standing wish of the people of Taean, local representative Lee has been simultaneously pursuing the Taean Expressway construction project as both a national fiscal project and a private investment project.

In 2021, Lee succeeded in having the Taean Expressway construction project included in the government's "2nd National Road Network 10-Year Plan (2021~2030)," marking the first time the Taean Expressway was reflected in a national plan.

In addition, in 2022, a preliminary survey budget of 250 million KRW for the construction of the Taean Expressway was included in the government budget through an increase by the National Assembly, allowing the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements to conduct a preliminary feasibility study.

According to reports Lee received from the government, the results were positive, indicating that there should be no issues with the future progress of the project.

Based on these research results, Lee plans to include the Taean Expressway in the government's "3rd Expressway Construction 5-Year Plan" and has been consulting with the government, companies, and related organizations to shorten the construction period and resolve the long-standing wish of the people of Taean, whether as a national fiscal project or a private investment project.

Lee stated, "The private investment project for the Taean Expressway is being promoted by Company D, one of the domestic BIG5 construction companies. On the 12th, Company D proposed the project to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport under the name 'Taean-Anseong Expressway.' Currently, the Ministry is collecting opinions from relevant local governments."

The "Taean-Anseong Expressway" construction project by Company D was initially planned as the "Seosan-Icheon Expressway," which did not include Taean.

Starting with a meeting with Company D on February 27 this year, Lee held several discussions with Company D and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, requesting that the route be extended to Taean, which eventually led to the current "Taean-Anseong Expressway" route.

Lee held the first meeting with Company D on February 27 this year to promote this project, and subsequently held meetings on June 20 and December 20 to discuss the progress.

Lee said, "The inclusion of the Taean section in this project was greatly influenced by the results of the preliminary feasibility study conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements," and added, "The revision of the Special Act on Corporate Cities for the establishment of an international school in the Taean Corporate City, as well as the attraction of the 'Future Aviation Research Center' and the 'UAM-AAV Core Component Test and Evaluation Center' in Taean, also had a significant impact."

He continued, "Recently, I met with Company D and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to request a shortening of the project period for the 'Taean-Anseong Expressway,' and in particular, strongly requested the early start and completion of the Taean-Seosan section."

Lee emphasized, "When the Taean Expressway opens, not only will Taean's transportation system be dramatically improved and travel times reduced, but the number of MZ generation tourists planning trips based on expressway routes will also increase significantly," and added, "After promoting both the national fiscal and private investment projects, I will focus on whichever project can be completed faster and is more economically viable."

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