BUSAN — The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), the Busan Metropolitan Government and the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Authority held the first meeting of a joint consultative body for the Gadeokdo New Airport project at a conference room in Busan Station on the 18th, moving to strengthen communication and cooperation on the project.
The body brings together MOLIT's head of aviation policy, Busan's vice mayor for future innovation and the authority's deputy director, and will discuss ways for the three organizations to work together. It was launched to put a communication channel in place among the central government, the local government and the project operator after the Daewoo Engineering & Construction consortium, the contractor for the site preparation work, submitted basic design documents on the 7th, taking the project into pre-construction stages such as permit consultations and detailed design.
The meeting is set to cover a broad range of pending issues. Participants will share views on how to reflect construction cost increases since the Middle East war in the contract amount and on the need for a swift resolution, and will also focus on the views of local construction firms taking part in the consortium and on difficulties at the site.
They will also discuss the start of priority construction work within the year and preparations for a groundbreaking ceremony. The government plans to consult related agencies so that the ceremony does more than mark the start of a national project and also reflects the region's development plans.
Also on the agenda is the direction of a comprehensive regional development plan linking the new airport with its surrounding areas. Participants plan to continue discussing ways for the benefits of the airport construction to translate into regional development.
"Gadeokdo New Airport is a national project to build a 24-hour gateway airport that the southern region has long hoped for," said Chung Chae-kyo, head of aviation policy at MOLIT. "With the launch of this body today, the central government, the local government and the project operator will work as one team to manage the project and push ahead without wavering toward the start of construction within the year and the opening on schedule."
Oh Suk-keun, Busan's vice mayor for future innovation, said, "We will make sure the construction of Gadeokdo New Airport does not stop at being a large-scale state project but provides real help to the local economy through steps such as expanding the participation of local companies, and we will build an airport complex city to lay the groundwork for the airport and its surrounding areas to develop together." He added, "We will work to make it a global gateway airport handling international air travel demand of 23 million people in the southern region."
Chung Im-soo, deputy director of the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Authority, said, "With the basic design documents for the site preparation work submitted, the project has now entered a full-fledged implementation stage, and this is a time when moving the work forward quickly on the ground matters." The deputy director added, "As the project operator, the authority will carry out its planned road map without disruption, including the start of priority construction work within the year, through airtight schedule management and securing safety."
