NH NongHyup Bank backs 'Champions City' mixed-use development in South Jeolla-Gwangju special city

NH NongHyup Bank announced Wednesday that it has signed a financing agreement worth approximately 340 billion won as the lead arranger for the first phase of the "Champions City mixed-use development" project in the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city. The project carries a total development cost of 2.7 trillion won ($1.83 billion), with total financing raised reaching 1.1 trillion won.

The Champions City mixed-use development will transform the former Jeonnam Spinning and Ilshin Spinning factory site — spanning 295,234 square meters in Imdong, Buk-gu — into a mixed-use urban district combining residential, commercial and cultural functions. The project aims to support the stable settlement of skilled workers and create a new regional growth hub in line with plans to establish a southwestern semiconductor cluster.

The first phase, out of two planned development stages, will deliver 3,216 units of mixed-use residential apartments along with public infrastructure including an elementary school and access roads. Construction is set to break ground in September, with completion targeted for November 2030. A history and culture park preserving the area's industrial heritage, along with a civic park, will also be developed across a combined area of approximately 33,000 square meters.

NH NongHyup Bank provided bridge loan financing in 2022 even as the real estate project financing market tightened, and is now participating through the full project lifecycle — from that early stage to the current main project financing — alongside NH Investment and other NongHyup Group affiliates. The bank said the arrangement represents a case of sustained financial support from the earliest stages for a project outside the Greater Seoul area, contributing to project financing market stabilization and balanced regional development.

"This project is a representative development that responds to the government's policy of nurturing the semiconductor industry in the southwestern region and grows together with local communities," a NongHyup Bank official said. "We will continue to serve as a financial partner that contributes to revitalizing regional economies and achieving balanced national development through productive finance."

NongHyup Bank holds financing commitments totaling 565.8 billion won across 12 projects in the southwestern region alone. This year, the bank has been expanding its locally focused productive finance activities, including an investment in the Sinan-Ui offshore wind power project — the first project under the National Growth Fund — and arranging financing for a battery energy storage system project in Gwangyang.

Meanwhile, NongHyup Bank has been selected as the first municipal treasury operator for the South Jeolla-Gwangju integrated special city, which manages a budget of approximately 21 trillion won. The bank will manage the city's municipal treasury through the end of this year.