Gov't to scrutinize permit bottlenecks at 16 road projects in greater Seoul new towns

The government will conduct a focused review of permit and approval delays affecting 16 road projects across seven new town districts in the greater Seoul area, including Hanam Gyosan, Incheon Gyeyang and Gwacheon.

The Metropolitan Area Wide Transport Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold an inspection meeting of its "New Town Transportation Rapid Promotion Task Force" at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Seoul.

Officials from Incheon, Hanam, Siheung and Ansan, as well as representatives from the Korea Land and Housing Corp., will attend to discuss 16 road projects designated by the ministry under its "rapid permit approval" management track. The projects include long-delayed initiatives where disputes and other obstacles have been resolved, as well as projects in early stages of development. The meeting aims to coordinate procedures and responsibilities among relevant agencies to accelerate project completion.

Projects on the agenda include a connecting road between the Gaksan Tunnel and National Route 43 in Hanam Gyosan, a link road to National Route 39 in Incheon Gyeyang, an underground urban expressway between Gwacheon and Umyeonsan, three underpasses in Ansan Jangsang, an expansion of Haean-ro in Uiwang, Gunpo and Ansan, new road construction between Jungnyul, Janghyeon and Mokgam in Siheung Janghyeon and Siheung Mokgam, and a road expansion between Ansan and Gahak.

The ministry said the task force had already produced results, with two projects — including the underground urban expressway between Gwacheon and Umyeonsan — receiving approval and breaking ground within 10 months of the approval application. Building on that progress, the ministry said it would support the remaining rapid-permit projects to ensure subsequent approval procedures proceed without delay.

Through the task force meetings, the ministry aims to identify recurring causes of permit delays and structural problems in order to develop institutional improvements. The meeting Wednesday is the second such review, following an inspection of "direct permit approval" projects on Oct. 26. The direct permit track covers five projects — including a connecting road to Dongnam-ro in Hanam Gyosan and an expansion of Beolmal-ro in Incheon Gyeyang — designated for intensive management due to concerns over delays stemming from disputes or approval bottlenecks.

Moon Seok-jun, acting director general of wide-area transportation policy at the committee, said agencies should "manage project schedules rigorously, share matters requiring inter-agency coordination closely with the committee, and make every effort to resolve issues proactively so that follow-up procedures are not delayed."