"President Must Personally Oversee Amendment to Special Act to Reflect Actual Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Costs"

[Financial News] As an amendment to the Special Act is expected to be pursued to reflect actual construction costs for Gadeokdo New Airport, calls have emerged for the president to personally oversee the matter so that construction does not face any further delays.


The Busan Citizens’ Solidarity for Local Decentralization and Balanced Development and other members of the Busan Citizens’ Action Headquarters for Promoting the New Airport and a Hub Airline made the call at a press conference held that morning in the briefing room of the Busan Metropolitan Council.
To meet the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s target of opening the airport in 2035 without disruption, a preliminary contract for the site preparation work must be signed this month, followed by the start of construction on the priority construction package next month. As a result, calls are growing for construction costs to be adjusted to reflect increases in material prices caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, the war in the Middle East and other factors.
The government has also recognized the issue and initially considered revising the Total Project Cost Management Guidelines as the fastest solution. However, because of concerns about fairness with other national projects, it decided to establish a legal basis by amending the Special Act on the Construction of Gadeokdo New Airport, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, rather than revising the guidelines.
The Busan Citizens’ Action Headquarters expressed concern, saying, "However, time is the most important issue right now. Amending the law requires going through several procedures, including approval by a plenary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea." It added, "If the preliminary contract and the start of construction on the priority construction package are delayed again because the amendment to the Special Act takes too long, it could disrupt not only the entire site preparation schedule but also the target of opening the airport in 2035."
It also argued, "Therefore, before amending the Special Act, the government must officially commit to reflecting in the final contract amount and total project cost any increase in construction costs caused by unforeseeable changes in the international situation during the basic design period."
In other words, it is calling for a two-track approach: first commit to reflecting the increased construction costs to keep the project on schedule, while simultaneously pursuing the amendment to the Special Act, rather than waiting for the law to be amended before starting construction.
Park Jae-yul, permanent representative of Busan Citizens’ Solidarity, emphasized, "On this occasion, we urge the Presidential Office and the Prime Minister’s Office to form a Pan-Governmental Task Force for the Proper Construction of Gadeokdo New Airport, with the goals of meeting the 2035 opening schedule and opening the airport early through process innovation and the concentrated deployment of resources." He added, "We also urge local politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties and the Busan Metropolitan Government to work together actively and pool all available efforts to promptly amend the Special Act on the Construction of Gadeokdo New Airport."[email protected] Byun Ok-hwan Reporter