Korea’s Transport Ministry to name contractor for Saemangeum Airport

[Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport]

The South Korean government is poised to select a contractor for a project to build an international airport in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province. The airport is being promoted as a major air logistics hub in Asia and the region’s first civilian airport.

According to sources from the construction industry on Monday, the Seoul Regional Office of Aviation under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will conduct design reviews on Thursday and Friday to select the contractor for the Saemangeum Airport project.

DL E&C Co., Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co., and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction Co., which passed the preliminary review in March 2023, will participate.

Under the transport ministry’s basic plan announced in 2022, Saemangeum Airport will be built in Okseo-myeon in Gunsan with a capacity to accommodate 1.05 million passengers and 8,000 tons of cargo across the region in 2058. The total project cost is estimated at 807.7 billion won ($594 million).

The length of the runway is expected to be a critical factor in selecting the contractor.

The Saemangeum National Industrial Complex in the northern part of Saemangeum is set to become a hub for the secondary battery industry, with about 70 companies moving in, including LS Group, SK on Co., and LG Chem Ltd.

To facilitate flights to major export destinations like the United States and Europe, a runway capable of handling large aircraft is essential.

The basic plan, however, specifies a runway length of only about 2,500 meters, which is only sufficient for medium-sized aircraft and makes it impossible to operate international flights to the Americas and Europe.

Securing a runway of at least 3,000 meters is considered a crucial factor in the airport’s design. Connectivity with surrounding areas is also deemed important, sources say.

The Saemangeum region is on the cusp of several development projects, including those for the new Saemangeum Port, the Saemangeum Industrial Complex, and the Airport Special Economic Zone.

Although the distance from the airport to the Airport Economic Zone is only about 1 kilometer in a straight line, the lack of a connecting road requires a detour of more than 20 kilometers.

Coordination with the U.S. military is another key issue.

The Gunsan Air Base, located 1.3 km east of the proposed Saemangeum Airport site, houses the Gunsan (Military) Airport.

The land ministry plans to work closely with the U.S. military and other relevant organizations to build and operate an integrated air traffic control facility as the airspace under the jurisdiction of Saemangeum Airport and Gunsan Airport largely overlap.

Sources noted that it will be crucial for the ministry to pursue fast-tracked negotiations with the U.S. military to meet its target of breaking ground early in 2025 and opening the airport in 2029.