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Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) Authority Commissioner Lee Hee-bong |
By Yi Whan-woo
Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ) is one of the best among the country’s eight FEZs and is ready to become a leading industry and logistics service center in Northeast Asia, according to a top official of the international industrial complex in South Jeolla Province.
“GFEZ is strong enough to compete against domestic and overseas FEZs,” said GFEZ Authority Commissioner Lee Hee-bong in a written interview with The Korea Times this week.
“It is also located on the sea route to Europe, Asia and North America, so it has the potential to become the largest logistics service area in Northeast Asia.”
It has been 10 years since the GFEZ opened to help attract foreign investment and boost the economy. Since then, it has attracted $12.71 billion from a total of 146 enterprises in the United States, China, Japan, France, the Netherlands and others. It also created more than 30,000 jobs.
“Our zone features outstanding infrastructure that leading international companies need for doing business in the 21st century,” Lee said.
GFEZ aims to nurture competitive and compatible niche markets in particular, as a part of its efforts to draw more global investors.
“By identifying appropriate international companies and synergistic local partners, we plan to create industrial clusters that can offer the best possible all-inclusive supply chain solutions for Northeast Asia,” the commissioner said.
“Based on the progress we’ve made so far and the strategies we’ve developed for the future, many anticipate the GFEZ global investors closer to Korea.
Its location, traffic infrastructure, and cost of setting up plants is very convenient for enterprises, said Lee.
“The GFEZ has numerous strengths and potential to shine among the FEZ in Korea as well as other countries,” Lee said.
“The cost to lease a plant site here is only about one third of the cost required in the FEZ in Incheon and Busan-Jinhae,” he said. “And it makes the GFEZ a favorable place to do business.”
He further explained that the access from Seoul has been made easier through an increased number of expressways and subway routes along with the KTX bullet trains that takes three hours from the nation’s capital. He also said a 15.73-kilometer beltway connects all five districts within the GFEZ.
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This is an image of a residential complex to be constructed in Shindok District, one of the five districts to be built in the GFEZ. A total land area of 25.49 square kilometers has been set aside to build a modern suburban district. / Courtesy of GFEZ Authori
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Five development districts
The Gwangyang FEZ is comprised of five unique zones _ Gwangyang, Yulchon, Shindok, Hwayang and Hadong. Gwangyang District is at the heart of the zone, not only because of its central geographical location but also because it operates a container port.
It is also home to one of the most powerful transportation companies in the world, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Port Holdings.
The port has 34 state-of-the-art loading and unloading berths, three of which are fully automated. The port area covers 5.16 square kilometers and the lines of its berthing walls are 13 kilometers long.
Hwayang District is the focal point of tourism in the region. With its beautiful scenery and pleasant climate, the district is ideal for golf courses, casinos, cottages, horse-riding clubs and sports parks. Furthermore, the Gwangyang FEZ Authority plans to bring an international amusement firm to the area to build an ocean park.
Yulchon District is a stretch of land ideal for world-class manufacturing in petrochemical and steel-related industries.
Shindok District is being transformed into a state-of-the-art residential complex for foreign investors and employees of multinational firms operating in the Gwangyang FEZ. A total land area of 25.49 square kilometers has been set aside to build an elaborate modern suburban compound.
Hadong district is to be developed as a center of the world’s best shipbuilding and offshore plant businesses.
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