Commissioner Lee Hwa-soon of the YEFEZ Authority. (Photo: YEFEZ Authority)

The Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone (YEFEZ) Authority will sell plots in Pyeongtaek Business & Industry Complex (BIX)’s industry and logistics zones next month. The Pyeongtaek BIX is an advanced industry cluster being created in an area covering 2.04 million sq. meters. 

Industry/logistics zones covering 1.33 million sq. meters in size are to be put on sale. They are to accommodate automotive parts, chemical products, electric parts and machinery makers. 

The zones are in close proximity to the Peyongtaek Port Hinterland Complex and the National Road No. 38. The Pyeongtaek BIX project broke ground in October with the goal of accommodating facilities related to automotive parts, electronics, machinery and logistics industries. It is to be dedicated in March 2019 at a cost of 800.4 trillion won. 

The project calls for the creation of logistics centers and warehouses for Chinese logistics companies, German automobile sales companies, and Korean home appliance products companies. 

The complex will be furnished with a center designed to prove one-stop support to tenant companies, a joint logistics center, and such facilities to improve the settlement of tenant company employees, including children’s houses, and a health center. It will have a program to secure manpower for tenant companies in place. The YEFEZ Authority has signed a deal with Anseong and Hwaseong campuses of Korea Polytechnic College, calling for the offering of manpower supply programs tailored to meet companies’ needs. 

Such companywide specific support programs like the introduction of commuting buses will be also arranged. 

The YEFEZ Authority is conducting two projects concerning the Pyeongtaek BIX and Hyeondeok District in the Pyeongtaek Port area. They are designed to create a hub of international cooperation for the development of advanced industries in the Yellow Sea Sphere by making the most of Pyeongtaek Port, which is capable of handling logistic traffic volumes from the Seoul metropolitan area with optimal logistics costs. 

The Hyeondeok District is about 2.3 million square meters reserved for foreign investors. The district will accommodate facilities related to logistics, tourists, recreation, and other service industries. Contracts have been signed with project owners on Chinese investments. With land compensations beginning next month, development is to be accelerated immediately. 

The district will be developed as a tourism mecca for non-Koreans with service industries and a welcoming environment for settlement. The YEFEZ Authority has signed MOUs with 17 Korean and foreign companies worth a combined $2 billion in investments. The authority has explored 16 investment candidate companies by hosting investment explanation sessions targeting foreign companies in China, Southeast Asian countries, Spain, Japan and Germany as well as Korean entities, including cooperative companies of Samsung Electronics, and member companies of the Pyeongtaek Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 

Commissioner Lee Hwa-soon of the YEFEZ Authority said, “The Pyeongtaek BIX and Hyeondeok District are expected to serve as a center of exporting goods and services to China as they are furnished with such infrastructure as two ports and two ports 24 expressways, including the Gyeonbu Expressway, 14 railway lines, including KTX, within a radius of 100 km.”

YESFEZ at a Glance

· High-tech Industrial Cluster in the Yellow Sea Region

The YESFEZ is close to Pyeongtaek port, a Northeast Asian logistics hub, which is directly connected to major ports in China. The area is being developed as a forward base for exports to China and a knowledge-creating special zone. It has an advanced technology-based industrial cluster that is home to 3,350 global companies and automobile-related firms.

· Largest knowledge-based manufacturing cluster in Korea

The zone has a manufacturing cluster where Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and LG Display operations are located. More than 300 global conglomerates are located in the area. They include 3M, Siemens, Sony and Bosch. The area’s IT, semiconductor, mechatronics and parts businesses account for about 40 percent of Korea’s knowledge-based manufacturing.

· Excellent proximity and investment environment

It is connected to major highways and the high speed KTX railway. Incheon International Airport and Chungju Airport are within two hours’ journey of Northeast Asia’s major cities. It is near the enormous market of Seoul metropolitan areas and rich human resources.

· Forward base for exports to China and Northeast Asia

The zone has the fastest access to China’s coastal industrial economic belt. It is close to Pyeongtaek port equipped with 62 berths which is directly connected to major ports in China and Japan.The Pyeontaek port’s number of berths is to be raised to 79 by 2020. The zone has exclusive docks for automobiles, steel and container ships. It also can constantly handle international passenger ships. 

· Korea-China Business Valley

The zone will develop the area into a hub for exchanges with China in commerce, tourism, medical services and housing through investment by Chinese capital. It will offer multi-purpose facilities for international business, vacation and culture.