S. Korea recognized for administrative city construction

The National Agency for Administrative City Construction signs a memorandum of understanding with Egypt's Administrative Capital for Urban Development for the construction of Egypt's new administrative capital by 2050 on Dec. 28, 2022. (National Agency for Administrative City Construction)

As the National Agency for Administrative City Construction’s Multifunctional Administrative City project in Sejong comes to a close, Egypt and Mongolia are collaborating with South Korea to build administrative cities in their respective countries.

Also known as “Happy City,” the city construction project focuses on building a self-governing city that centers on administrative functions. Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, the project has gained attention both domestically and internationally as the second presidential office and parliamentary building was announced to be built in Sejong by 2027.

Egypt’s Administrative Capital for Urban Development signed a memorandum of understanding with Korea on Dec. 28 for the construction of Egypt’s new administrative capital. Located around 45 kilometers east of Egypt’s capital city Cairo, the current government of Egypt hopes to construct this city by 2050.

Through the MOU signed between the two countries, Egypt is calling on Korean companies to bid and invest in their project. The NAACC plans to promote cooperative projects across urban planning, smart cities, eco-friendly energy spending, water management and city operations while pushing for more support from Korean companies.

Korea and Mongolia also signed an MOU on Feb. 15 to collaborate on developing two new cities in Orkhon Valley and Khushigt Valley. As Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar is becoming overpopulated, the Mongolian government is planning to develop these cities to relieve the capital city of overpopulation problems.

Mongolian Minister of Construction and Urban Development Munkhbaatar Begzjav (left) and Administrator of National Agency for Administrative City Construction Lee Sang-rae sign a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on building new cities in Mongolia on Feb. 15. (National Agency for Administrative City Construction)

The NAACC plans to form a team composed of Korean and Egyptian companies to identify local trends, monitor the market and seek projects to collaborate on when working in Egypt. The agency additionally plans to prepare specific measures to support Korean companies participating in Mongolia’s new city development projects.

“In addition to Egypt and Mongolia, the NAACC plans to build a business plan centered on constructing an administrative city elsewhere,” said an NAACC official. “We will actively support Korean companies who wish to take part in new markets.

Besides Egypt and Mongolia, two other countries -- Indonesia and Tanzania -- have shown interest in Korea’s administrative city development plans. Indonesia signed an MOU on November 2019 according to its plan to build a new capital city on Borneo Island by August 2024. On Oct. 26, 2022, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa visited Happy City to see how the city was mapped out and its development process.

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)