Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and members of the Saemangeum Committee including Jeollabuk-do Gov. Song Ha-jin, discuss pending issues at the 2t5th committee meeting at Jeollabuk-do provincial government building on Feb. 24. (Photo: Prime Minister's Secretariat)

Administrator Yang Chung-mo of the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency (SDIA). (Photo: SDIA)

The central and local governments are rolling up their sleeves to develop the reclaimed Saemangeum area, once dubbed an “ugly duckling,” into “a beautiful swan.”

The central government decided to finance the construction of an 18 km-long inside trunk road via the national coffers as part of efforts to improve investment conditions for the area.

The step is expected to give a shot in the arm to the Saemangeum development project, which has been struggling due to a shortage of infrastructure.

The government plans to overhaul a master plan to develop the Saemangeum area, involving making it a center of Green New Deal and new industries.

On top of the construction of the world’s largest renewal energy complex, projects to build core infrastructure, such as expressways, a new airport and a new port will be launched.

The central and local governments aim to develop the area into a low-carbon, energy self-sufficient city with a population of 150,000 people by 2030.

The ruling Democratic Party is joining efforts to develop the Saemangeum area by pushing ahead with a plan to launch the pan-Jeolla province super-metropolitan energy community “Honam RE300,” focusing on photovoltaic power there.

 
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun presided over the 25th Saemangeum Committee Meeting at the Jeollabuk-do government building on Feb. 24 and announced a master plan for the Saemangeum Development Phase II Project.

The latest plan calls for raising levels of progress from the current 60 percent to 78 percent by 230 and to 100 percent by 2050.

It is noteworthy that an 18 km-long inside trunk road, which was originally supposed to be funded via the private sector, will be implemented using national finances.

Public entities such as K-water will be asked to participate in projects to refurbish infrastructure in the area, easing the financial burden for private sector investors.

The social overhead projects that have been already launched will be also accelerated. An expressway connecting Saemangeum and Jeonju is to be completed by 2024 to improve location factors of the Saemangeum Industrial Complex.

A new airport in the Saemangeum area will be dedicated by 2028 while the first phase project of a new port will be finished by 2030.

A free economic zone tailored for such infrastructure is to be built as the nation’s new investment center. Prime Minister Chung said, “Saemangeum will be made into a center of green growth such as the world’s largest off-shore photovoltaic power complex.” The first goal is to build a green industrial complex with renewal energy self-sufficiency by 2024, he said.

Chung said world-class renewal energy projects such as photovoltaic power and wind power will be launched this year for generation scheduled for next year. Farming zones will be supplied with water drawn from other district instead of desalination.

In this vein, the ruling Democratic Party held a session on the same day to launch a commissioned service on the Honam RE300 Initiative.

The plan calls for generating three times the electricity consumption of the Saemangeum area with renewable energy.

The excess 200 percent will be supplied to the Seoul metropolitan area via an “energy expressway” renewable energy power grid.

The first phase calls for expanding renewal energy resources by 2030, and it aims to achieve “Honam RE100” energy self-sufficiency.

The second phase calls for expanding energy storage systems and hydrogen fuel cells and improving long-distance electricity transmission networks to supply excess renewable energies to other areas.

The final phase calls for securing large-sized facilities, such as green hydrogen turbines and developing and producing large-capacity energy storage systems in accordance with the “RE300 Energy Export Initiative.”