Land and Housing Corp. (LH) is exporting a homegrown model of smart city technologies that it has developed. The exporting model integrates a wide array of advanced ICT, ranging from tap water to energy, transpiration and spatial information.
Planned projects include the South Saad Al-Abdullah New City in Kuwait. The Kuwait new city project represents the first time Korean-style smart city technology was exported. In April, LH signed a contract to consult on the establishment of a master plan to construct a new city with Kuwait’s Public Authority for Housing Welfare.
The 43.3 billion won consulting project was fully shouldered by the Kuwaiti housing authority. If feasibility is confirmed, the agreement calls for LH and the Kuwaiti government to establish a special purpose vehicle to make joint investments into the new city project. South Saad Al-Abdullah is one of nine new cities that the Kuwaiti government is planning to build.
The South Saad Al-Abdullah project calls for the creation of a new city covering 64.5 km sq. meters in an uninhabited area 30 km west of Kuwait City. The $4 billion (about 4.5 trillion won) project is three times bigger in size than Bundang, a satellite city south of Seoul.
The new city will be filled with a diverse array of infrastructure facilities outfitted with Korean ICT and new convergence buildings utilizing eco-friendly and low-carbon technologies. If the project is completed, it will create a new city with housing infrastructure capable of accommodating a maximum of 40,000 households.
Korean companies could have an upper hand in selecting construction equipment and materials down the road. Korean contractors participating in the project have less financial burden as there are no site purchase costs, since the new city is built on state-owned land and the Kuwaiti government is charged with basic infrastructure and building sales.
Along with Kuwait, LH also signed an MOU for a strategic partnership with Kalyan Dombibali City near Mumbai, India to build a smart new city. LH has a strategy to make a jumpstart in exporting homegrown smart city models to the Middle East and Southeast Asia by making the most of its experience with smart city projects in Kuwait and India.
LH is also devoting itself to exploring urban renewal projects tailored to meet each district’s needs. LH, selected as an institution for supporting urban renewal in 2014, is carrying out a diverse array of activities, ranging from consulting services for urban renewal to execution.
Starting with an urban renewal project in a descript area near the Cheonan Dongnam Ward Office, LH plans to concentrate on the implementation of such projects as urban renewal projects to build economic infrastructure, developing specialized industrial complexes in Milyang and Jinju, renovating roadside houses, and green model projects.
The corporation’s 2017 goal is developing districts covering a combined 3.5 km sq. meters. LH is trying to explore diverse ways of promoting collaboration with local governments and private companies to support low-cost housing development. LH plans to raise its housing welfare support to about 3.3 million units by 2030 by expanding public rental housing and offering housing services tailored to meet the needs of everyone from youth to the elderly.
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