The city of Busan is gearing up for a major transformation of the city as part of its bid for the 2030 World Expo. The city’s ‘urban restoration project’ is unfolding before our eyes, as the city government seeks to establish a transportation network to connect the city with the rest of the world, build the world’s first floating city and rejuvenate the old city center around the North Port, the site for the 2030 World Expo.

A Bird’s eye View of the World’s First Floating City. Source:OCEANIX Homepage

■New Gadeok International Airport, the Center of a Logistics Hub in Northeast Asia

The construction of the Gadeok New International Airport to connect Busan with the rest of the World went into full swing with an announcement by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure. The Ministry recently held an interim briefing to update the progress of establishing a basic design plan for Gadeok New Airport and announced its plan to open the new airport by December 2029 in line with the city’s bid for the 2030 World Expo.

Gadeok New International Airport will be constructed on 4,000,000㎡ land on Gadeok Island, Gangseo-gu in Busan and have one airstrip (3,500ｍ). The new international airport is intended to serve as a gateway airport in the southern part of the country which is larger in size and possesses a higher international profile. The project budget is estimated to be 13 trillion won, while the construction of the airport is expected to bring regional production inducement effects worth 126 billion trillion won and value added effects worth 6.878 trillion won.

Once the Gadeok New Airport is complete, Busan and the southern region of Korea will have an international airport that can overcome the limits of the existing Gimhae International Airport. The length of the airstrip and 24-hour operation will enable long-overhaul direct flights of both passenger and cargo planes, and connect the city with the rest of the world.

■BuTX railway, Connecting the Airport with the North Port in 15 minute

Another landmark transportation network to be showcased during the 2030 World Expo with Gadeok New Airport is the ‘Next Generation Busan Express Railroad(BuTX).’ Also dubbed ‘Busan Urban Loop Train Express’, BuTX is a high-speed railway which runs between Gadeok New Airport to the Osiria Tourism Complex through a deep 40-meter wide underground tunnel. BuTX will be the first hydrogen-fueled train in Korea. Six stations will be established(Gadeok New Airport·Myeongji·Hadan·North Port·Centum City·East Busan(Osiria) through the 47.9km-long tunnel, and the total project budget is estimated to be 2.586 trillion won. BuTX is expected to complete the city’s groundbreaking transportation network as it will take only 15 minutes to travel from Gadeok New Airport to the North Port, and 26 minutes to Osiria.

The Busan Metropolitan City Government is pushing for the BuTX project to start operations in 2030 to align with the opening of Gadeok New Airport. The city government is currently consulting with the railcar manufacturer to improve the performance of hydrogen-fueled vehicles. The city government also commissioned a service to develop strategies to raise the effectiveness of the project by involving private capital. The city seeks to map out a concrete plan to secure the project’s budget after identifying whether private developers can take part in the project through the service of integrating the development of the railway stations.

■Restoration of the Old City Center- Relocation of 55th Quartermaster Base Depot

In line with the bid for the 2030 World Expo, Busan is making ardent endeavors to renovate the existing city center with a focus on the North Port, the site for the 2030 World Expo. One of the key projects is the relocation of the 55th Quartermaster Base Depot, a facility for US Forces in Korea located in Beomil-dong, Dong-gu District which spans an area of 217,755㎡. The need to relocate the depot has been constantly raised as the facility is located in the middle of the urban center linking Dong-gu and Nam-gu. Discussions on the relocation were accelerated in 2019 when the bid for the 2030 World Expo was confirmed as a national project. The relocation project has been rapidly proceeding since last year following the Korean government’s decision to select the Expo bid as one of its national initiatives. Working-level consultations between the Ministry of National Defense of Korea and US Forces in Korea are currently underway while the Busan Metropolitan City Government is consulting with the relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Ministry of National Defense.

Relocation of the 55th Quartermaster Base Depot is expected to bring about fundamental changes to the old city center of Busan by linking parts of the city center formerly blocked by the military facility. The relocation of the military facility will also connect city centers with the North Port where active redevelopment endeavors are currently underway, as well as pave the way to create a cultural and economic belt which connects Seomyeon, Munhyeon Finance Complex and North Port. Besides this, it provides the space to build a waterfront park for citizens.

■Establishment of the World’s First Floating City

The Busan Metropolitan City Government aims to build the world’s first floating city in line with Busan’s bid for the 2030 World Expo. It will be the first pilot project to establish a sustainable floating city in the world. The city of Busan seeks to make the best use of the North Port’s geographical conditions where the land meets the ocean to showcase the floating city during the 2030 World Expo. The floating city will be made of interconnected floating modular pieces, and designed to be fully self sustainable in terms of energy, water and food resources. The total area of the floating city will be 60,000㎡ with the capacity to accommodate 12,000 residents. The total project budget is expected to amount to 720 billion Korean won.

To build the world’s first pilot floating city, Busan signed an MOU with UN Habitat and OCEANIX. Last year, the city government commissioned a service to establish a basic design plan for the floating city, and started to lay the groundwork for construction of the floating city by considering the permissible scope of occupying or usage of public waters. By Kim Hyun joo