Gadeokdo New Airport to Prioritize Detailed Design ... Keep 2035 Opening on Schedule

[Financial News] Site preparation work for Gadeokdo New Airport, whose subsequent procedures had stalled over disagreements about construction costs, will prioritize the start of detailed design. The government plans to pursue the start of main construction in the first half of next year and an opening in 2035, while holding parallel consultations on the design and construction costs.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation said on the 9th that detailed design would begin that day following consultations with the Daewoo Engineering & Construction consortium, a preliminary candidate for a negotiated contract for the site preparation work. The design period is 180 days from the start date.
After the basic design was deemed qualified last September, subsequent procedures for the Gadeokdo New Airport site preparation project—including price negotiations for the priority construction work—were temporarily suspended over the issue of adjusting construction costs in response to the war in the Middle East. The Ministry, the Corporation and Daewoo Engineering & Construction decided to proceed with detailed design first to avoid disrupting the schedules for starting main construction and opening the airport.
The government is also pursuing a legal amendment to adjust construction costs. The Ministry is consulting with the National Assembly on revising the Gadeokdo New Airport Act so that price increases resulting from the war in the Middle East can be reflected in construction costs, with passage by year-end as its goal.
The Ministry plans to continue talks with Daewoo Engineering & Construction so that a contract for the priority construction work, linked to the legal amendment, can also be signed by year-end. The goal is to begin main construction in the first half of next year, after the detailed design is completed and subsequent procedures, including a review of its adequacy, are carried out.

[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter