The Incheon Economic Free Zone (IFEZ) has been the most successful among Korea’s eight free economic zones, having attracted over $1.124 billion in foreign investments in recent years.
Since its launch in 2003, the IFEZ has reported $6.768 billion in foreign direct investments, which is the most among the FEZs in the country, taking up around 67 percent of all FDI attracted by the FEZs.
Songdo International City has been leading other international cities among the IFEZ in the attraction of international organizations, global business firms and the establishment of global campuses.
Among the business firms committed to locating offices there are Daewoo International, POSCO Construction, Samsung Bio Logics, Samsung Bio Epis, Centrion, Ajimoto Nexin and Emco, among others. There are also 13 international organizations that moved their offices into Songdo City, including the World Bank, Green Climate Fund, and a number of Asian campuses for international schools, including Chadwick International School, Utah University Asia Campus, and the Yonsei University International Campus are there.
The Songdo International City Development Project is likely to continue beyond 2020, which will make the city a leader among the cities in the IFEZ when the project is completed. The city has 53.4 sq. km in space and will have some 180,000 domestic residents and 70,000 foreign residents, bringing the total population to 260,000. Real estate values in the city have shot up, with the city developing at such a fast pace, especially the prices of residential homes, with so many people moving so fast into the city. The construction of new houses has shoot up to accommodate new residents moving into the city, but demand still outstrips supply
Rows of apartments and residential houses in the Songdo City American Town IPark are being sold to foreign residents, making it the first foreign housing complex in Korea. Hyundai Development Co. is the main builder of the residential complex and the Songdo American Town Co.
An official of the Songdo American Town said the company signed contracts with housing sales agencies in the U.S. and is now working on a plan to sell the apartments to Korean residents in the U.S., especially those in the Los Angeles area. So far, the company has reported very good responses for its marketing moves from many Korean-Americans.
The Songdo American Town IPark will be built inside the Songdo International Business M2-2 Bloc encompassing 24,800 sq. meters with apartments and officetels. The smallest of apartments are 64 sq. meters in size, totaling 83 units, and the largest measure 159 sq. meters of space. There will be 125 officetels in the highrise apartment complexes.
A number of major transportation facilities are easily accessible from the city, including Incheon International Airport, Incheon Subway Line No.1, KTX Kwangmyung Station, and the Bus Station, which is the starting point for buses going all the way to the Seoul Railroad Station and downtown Seoul. It takes about 40 minutes to travel to the Gangnam area in southern Seoul by a bus from the city.
Another advantage for the city is the amount of “livelihood infrastructure” which is closely accessible, such as the Hyundai Premium Outlet, the HomePlus supermarket chain. Also to be built is the Festival Work Street Mall. In 2018, Lotte Mall Songdo, a huge shopping mall, is expected to open equipped with a movie theater, an ice link, a department store and a hotel.
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A sweeping view of the Songdo Int’l City in the IFEZ strewn with high-rise buildings.(Photos:IFEZ)
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