The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday it had designated an area of about 8.26 million square meters around the Gwangju military airport site as a candidate location for a Honam-region semiconductor advanced national industrial complex, following deliberation and approval by the Industrial Location Policy Council as part of the government's three major megaprojects initiative.
The candidate designation came after the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy requested national industrial complex status under the Industrial Sites and Development Act, based on demand from Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The Industrial Location Policy Council, composed of related ministries and private experts, finalized the candidate site after comprehensively weighing the need to develop a national industrial complex and corporate investment demand.
The ministry said it plans to swiftly review and pursue an additional expansion of the candidate site to ensure the national industrial complex can fully accommodate the semiconductor industry ecosystem as well as residential functions. It said the complex must include space for an industrial ecosystem where partner companies and research institutions can cluster and grow alongside the production facilities of anchor companies.
The ministry also said it plans to develop the complex into a corporate advanced city equipped with both industrial and residential conditions, organically linking residential, education, cultural and transportation functions preferred by companies and workers through transport infrastructure.
The ministry said it will prepare follow-up procedures, including an industrial complex development plan, without delay to ensure timely site supply in line with companies' investment schedules.
Kim I-tak, first vice minister of land, infrastructure and transport, said the designation of the 8.26-million-square-meter candidate site marks "the first step and the full-fledged starting point" for developing the Honam-region semiconductor advanced national industrial complex. "We will work closely with companies, related ministries and local governments to draw up an expansion plan as soon as possible, ensuring the complex fully encompasses not only the land needed by anchor companies but also an industrial ecosystem where partner firms can grow together, along with residential and cultural functions," he said.
smh@heraldcorp.com
