ANSAN — The city of Ansan in Gyeonggi Province has secured a legal basis to take part directly in the integrated development project to move the Ansan Line underground.
The National Assembly recently passed an amendment to the Special Act on Railway Undergrounding and Integrated Development of Railway Sites, clearing the way for the city to participate as a co-developer, Ansan said on the 28th.
The amendment broadens the range of eligible project operators. It adds the Korea National Railway to a structure previously centered on government-invested companies, and allows local governments, public agencies and local public corporations to join as co-developers.
Ansan can now work with the Korea National Railway and other agencies to draw up detailed plans for integrated development linking city-owned land with railway sites.
The project site covers about 710,000 square meters, of which roughly 66% is publicly owned land held by the city. A central question has been how to channel development revenue from that land into the cost of moving the railway underground and into public amenities for residents.
In a project proposal submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in October 2024, the city had argued that the special act needed to be amended to allow local governments to participate.
The city says the revision gives it more room to reflect local conditions and residents' views in the project plan. It also plans to use its own assets to build a development structure that improves both financial viability and public benefit.
The Ansan Line project was designated a pilot project by the land ministry in February 2025. A consulting study is under way to draft a master plan for above-ground development along the 5.12-kilometer stretch from Choji Station to Jungang Station.
The city plans to reconnect urban space now divided by the railway and to place housing, education, retail, medical, office and cultural functions in the space freed up above ground. Walkways and green space are also part of the plan.
"It was important to create a structure in which Ansan takes part in the project directly and reflects local conditions and residents' views," Mayor Lee Min-keun said. "Using this amendment to the special act as a turning point, we will work actively with the relevant agencies to secure both financial viability and public benefit."
