- A New blueprint for high-tech industry, food, and convention hubs
- Saemangeum as a leading Global Technology Hub
Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency (SDIA, Administrator Kim Kyung-ahn) celebrated its 10th anniversary on September 12.
The Saemangeum Project was to make only farmland with the completion of Saemangeum Seawall in 1991. The land use plan was changed to organize 30% of agricultural land and 70% of complex land for industry and tourism in 2008. Then full-fledged developing process began with Saemangeum Master Plan in 2011.
SDIA launched out for rapid promotion and efficient management of the Project on September 12, 2013 as a control tower. The project promotions were often delayed and an integrated development process was not easy before the launch of SDIA.
SDIA revamped the Master Plan after its launching, then improved regulations, established national industrial complex and Saemangeum Development Corporation (SDC) in 2018, and completed East-West Highway in 2020. But major projects under the Master Plan have not been made sufficient progress.
The Saemangeum Project has been remarkably advancing with the full support of the government since the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Saemangeum International Investment Promotion District was listed on the national agenda with improvements in investment condition and infrastructure.
The examples are the designation of Investment Promotion Zone in June, 2023 and Secondary Battery Complex in July to provide exceptional benefits to entrepreneurs. The ground for Smart Waterfront City was also completed in June. The highways across Saemangeun area were completed with the completion of South-North Highway in July, 2023.
KRW 6.6 trillion ($5B) by LG Chem, LS Group, and more companies (leading secondary battery entrepreneurs), has been invested in Saemangeum since the inauguration of the current government. This is the largest amount of investment ever, more than four times the amount of private investments in the nine years since SDIA launched, and the Saemangeum project is entering a new turning point.
The national government’s full support and a surge of investments by entrepreneurs have brought an unprecedented advancement in Saemangeum. And it is time to make a future strategy at the national level by redesigning the Master Plan in line with the changed conditions in Saemangeum.
The core of the Master Plan which will be reinforced this time is ‘Entrepreneur’. It is to foster Saemangeum as a strategic export base, supporting the entrepreneurs. Moreover, it is to improve the Korean economy beyond the local economy.
According to the results of the SOC project review, necessary action will be followed. High-tech hub, Global Food Hub, Convention Hub will be established with the advantage of expandable condition of Saemangeum.
SDIA’s efforts over the past decade have marked a significant turning point in Saemangeum as a global technology hub. Kim Kyung-ahn, Administrator of SDIA, said, “SDIA would plan a new big picture based on Saemangum’s strong points. Saemangeum would be an East-Asia economy hub of industry, tourism and logistics.”