Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun speaks at a ceremony to sign an investment deal involving a consortium, led by SK, at the Sasemangeum Convention Center in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, on Nov. 24. (Photos: SDIA)

With the opening of Saemanguem’s east-west road, the development of the reclamation area in Jeollabuk-do is expected to be accelerated, as a consortium led by SK sealed a deal to invest 2 trillion won.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency (SDIA) held an investment agreement ceremony on top of the official opening of the east-west road on Nov. 24.

The east-west road is a four-lane, 16.5 km truck road network, linking Saemangeum’s New Port and the Saemangeum-Jeonju Highway.

The road, contributing to improving approach to Jeolla provinces, Gyeongsang provinces and the Seoul metropolitan area, is expected to help the reclamation area spur investments.

During the day, a consortium led by SK struck a deal to invest 2.1 trillion won. In September, the consortium was selected as a preferred negotiator of an Industry-investment linked power generation project.

The consortium plans to pour 2.1 trillion won to build a startups cluster and attract a data center in exchange of being given an incentive of landing a 200MW floating photovoltaic power project. MOLIT plans to continue to implement policies to attract corporate investment.

Tenant companies and research institutes in an industrial complex will be offered with long-term lease land at a cheaper price equivalent to 1 percent of the value of public entity property. The move is designed to establish an industry ecosystem.

A manpower development center specializing in new and renewable energies will be established in order to build a new/renewable energy industry ecosystem.

The center, whose dedication is slated for 2022, will perform duties such as technology support to photovoltaic power firms using the former’s facilities.

Like SK consortium’s investments, additional investment-oriented floating photovoltaic power generators will be selected on a step-by-step basis.

Among those on hand at the ceremony for the with the SK consortium and the east-west road were Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, MOLIT Minister Kim Hyun-mee, SDIA Administrator Yang Chung-mo, Soh Soon-yul, co-chairman of the Saemangeum Committee, and Jeollabuk-do Gov. Song Ha-jin as well as SK Chairman Chey Tai-won.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Minister Kim Hyun-mee of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Administrator Yang Chung-mo of Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency, Soh Soon-yul, co-chairman of the Saemangeum Committee, and Jeollabuk-do Gov. Song Ha-jin as well as SK Chairman Chey Tai-won attend a ceremony to strike an investment deal involving a consortium, led by SK.

Prior to the ceremonies, Prime Minister Chung presided over the 24th Saemangeum Committee Meeting and discussed four agenda items, including how the 2nd phase Saemangeum development roadmap will be established and an integrated development plan related to a smart water-front city.

The first phase Saemangeum project is to be completed this year, and the second phase project is to be launched next year.

The second phase development roadmap, established by SDIA, will reestablish the Saemangeum reclamation area as a “center of green new deal and new industries” and aim to change development goals into clean energy hub, green industry center, a specialized economic zone, and a focus on core projects such as brand new waterfront cities.

SIDA plans to change minimum development guidelines stipulated in the master plan into an action plan to suggest phase-by-phase land development roadmap with the dedication of projects slated for 2050.

Specifics, including business models such as a green hydrogen integrated complex, a specialized port economic zone, a new technology test-bed and a multi-function tourism complex, which will be implemented over the next decade, will be espoused.

MOLIT said, “Now that Saemangeum’s east-west road has been opened to public traffic and SK consortium’s investment deal has been signed. They will be starting-point projects to expedite the development of the Saemangeum reclamation area.”

The ministry said it will strive to reinvigorate the development of the Saemangeum reclamation area by making major projects such as water-front cities and renewable energies bear fruit at the earliest date.