Gadeokdo New Airport project faces challenges

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

A project to build a new airport on Busan‘s island, Gadeokdo, is facing challenges, with the sole bidder failing to meet the competitive tender terms.

According to the Public Procurement Service on Monday, Hyundai Engineering & Construction (E&C) Co. applied for the prequalification (PQ) for the Gadeokdo New Airport project as a sole bidder.

The construction company, however, failed in bidding because it had no competitors.

The Gadeokdo New Airport project aims to build an airport on 6.67 million square meters of land reclaimed from Gadeok Island.

The latest bid for land work involves building airport facilities such as runways, moorings, and passenger terminals, along with auxiliary infrastructure such as bridges. For the latest bid, Hyundai E&C teamed up with Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co to form a consortium.

Following the failed round of bidding, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) faces a decision to either to contract with the consortium or to reissue the tender under the same conditions in accordance with the national contract laws.

The ministry noted that it will carefully review all available options.

“There are many options for the government to choose from, so the government will closely examine all situations to produce the best results,” said a ministry official.