Leaders of the Democratic Party, including Representative Lee Nak-yeon (left) and Park Tae-yeon Kim, are receiving a letter from the National Assembly on the morning of the 24th, calling for the passage of a special law from the standing representative of the Gadeok New Airport Citizens Promotion Team. [이승환 기자]– It was confirmed that while the ruling party in power enforced the Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act ahead of the by-election in April, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reported to the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee that the project cost of the new airport could cost up to 28 trillion won instead of 7.5 trillion won. The city of Busan initially estimated the project cost of Gadeokdo New Airport at 7.5 trillion won, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the ministry in charge of the project, pointed out that the budget was 20 trillion won more than this, saying, “I made a mistake.” The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs also stated in the report that there are concerns about various safety issues when operating Gadeokdo Airport, and that it is “unprecedented worldwide.” It is interpreted that the political circles pushed forward the Gadeokdo New Airport Special Act ahead of the 4-7 Busan Mayor’s by-election, but the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport actually opposed it.
According to the power of the people on the 24th, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs submitted a report titled’Gadeok Airport Report’ earlier this month to the opposition lawmakers of the National Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.
The report contained a lot of content that refuted the plan announced by the city of Busan. First, it was assumed that Busan should open only international flights at Gadeokdo New Airport, and use Gimhae Airport for domestic flights. However, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pointed out that “it is difficult because the number of transit passengers has increased and it is inefficient.” “Tokyo and Montreal, which had only moved international flights to the outskirts of the city center, also switched to integrated operation after the failure of multiple airport operations.”
– The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that even if the Gadeokdo New Airport is operated only by international flights, as Busan City claims, the budget will be much more than 7.5 trillion won. It is the view of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport that Busan City has omitted necessary budgets from various places. They said, “There are problems such as omission of construction cost increase and underconstruction of access transportation facilities in the Busan city plan. As a result of recalculating the budget by airport corporations and experts, it is estimated that a total of 12.8 trillion won.”
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport further explained that if both international and domestic runways are built at Gadeokdo New Airport, the budget will increase to 1.58 trillion won. In addition, military facilities should also be included in order to grow Gadeokdo New Airport as the’Southeastern gateway airport’ claimed by the Democratic Party. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport predicted that when an airport is built, including international and domestic flights, as well as military flight facilities, the budget will rapidly increase to 28.600 trillion won. In order for Gadeokdo New Airport to function as a gateway airport in the southeast region, the budget will be more than 20 trillion won compared to the 7.5 trillion won previously announced by Busan City.
The report also noted concerns about the stability of the construction. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “Gadeokdo Island is directly exposed to the open sea, so it is expected that construction will be difficult due to the influence of currents and waves,” and “The offshore reclamation work is expected for more than 6 years, and typhoon damage is also a concern.” He added, “Considering the depth of the runway and the elevation of the runway, it is necessary to reclaim a scale of 142 million ㎡ at a maximum depth of 106 m,” he added. “This is 8 times the amount of landfill at Gimhae New Airport.”
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport emphasized that “the runway is exposed to the open sea more than once, so there is a very high possibility of unequal subsidence,” and “it is unprecedented worldwide.”
There were also concerns about environmental damage. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said, “The reclamation of the sea will damage the first-class marine ecology area with high conservation value due to biodiversity, protection targets, and marine habitats.” In this case, it is inevitable to damage the first-class ecological nature, such as the sea (cliffs),” he wrote.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport pointed out the problems of Gadeokdo New Airport throughout the report, and in the report, “Public officials must perform their duties faithfully to promote public interest and prevent disadvantages. Failure to follow legal business promotion procedures is a violation of the sincerity obligation. “I even wrote.
Some interpreted that the ruling and opposition parties urgently pushed the Gadeok-do New Airport to catch the vote ahead of the Busan mayor’s by-election, but the warning sound was ringing everywhere.
Within the power of the people, there are concerns that a conflict between Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongnam (PK) and Daegu and Gyeongbuk (TK) could rise again due to the report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Right now, lawmakers who have Busan as their regional district are in an atmosphere of resentment for the report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The special law is only a large framework agreement to promote the Gadeokdo new airport, and concrete discussions will be made in the course of future negotiations. The common opinion of Busan lawmakers is that it is impatient to promote controversy over cost issues before the law is passed.
[이희수 기자 / 박제완 기자]
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