President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during a townhall meeting at Busan City Hall, Tuesday, outlining a set of measures to help revitalize the regional economy. Yonhap By Ko Dong-hwan A new airport on Busan's Gadeok Island will open by the end of 2029 and is projected to generate an economic impact of nearly 29 trillion won ($22 billion), according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Tuesday. The airport planned in southwestern Busan is expected to contribute over 18 trillion won of the anticipated economic impact to the city, while 11 trillion won is projected to strengthen the economy of the broader regions of the Gyeongsang Provinces, according to the authority's latest plan on the airport. In addition to the economic impact, the airport, along with a new large-scale logistics depot planned next to it, is expected to generate an added-value effect of 11.8 trillion won. Sixty-six percent of this value will benefit the city, while the remaining 34 percent will contribute to the surrounding areas. The new airport is expected to create over 116,000 new jobs, with more than 73,000 of them being generated within the country's largest port city, as predicted by the authority. "To foster Busan as the pivotal hub of the southern region and indisputably the second-largest city of Korea, the 'Global Hub City Special Act' will be enacted," President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a townhall meeting hosted by the Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development at Busan City Hall. "Besides improving the existing local ports and railways in the city, opening the new airport by 2029 is an essential requirement for realizing the city's role as a global hub." Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo said at the meeting that individuals in Busan with long-distance flight plans to destinations in North America or Europe have had to endure travel times exceeding four hours on the KTX and city subways to reach Incheon International Airport. "But the new Gadeok airport being just a one-hour drive away from Busan City Hall will significantly enhance travel convenience for individuals in Busan flying on international routes," he said. The ministry initially announced a basic plan for the airport construction project last December. Next month, the authority will initiate a bidding process to select a firm responsible for developing a masterplan for the terminal design. After the selection process concludes in June, work on the terminal design will commence during the second half of this year. An aerial view of a new airport on Gadeok Island in Busan scheduled for completion by the end of 2029 / Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport By the end of this year, the authority plans to select an engineering firm tasked with preparing the construction site. The ministry has planned the airport to alleviate the excessive concentration of urban development, transportation, and manpower in the country's capital region. This move aims to foster a more balanced regional development across the country as a whole. With the project's cost estimated over 13 trillion won, the airport will be built on a 6,670 square meter site in the city's Gangseo District. After the ministry announced the Gadeok Island New Airport Construction Special Act in 2021, the Cabinet passed the project plan the following year. The plan, in addition to the airport, includes the establishment of a new logistics support center adjacent to the airport, covering an area of 1.26 million square meters, equivalent to the size of 180 soccer stadiums combined. "From the start of its design, the airport's construction will implement cutting-edge technological methods such as building information modelling (BIM) and digital-twin to introduce the most modern airport in the safest way possible," Park said at the meeting. "The completed airport will connect with the logistics center and local tourism hotspots as well, establishing itself as the most attractive international airport in southern Korea."
