The multi-phased US$11 billion project includes construction of a twin-towered 151 story skyscraper, the highest in Northeast Asia. With the project, Incheon City will become a more complex city concept with cultural, ocean and leisure facilities plus commercial and residential structures.
The project is part of Korea's efforts to transform 1,500 acres of reclaimed land into an unrivaled business hub for Northeast Asia.
Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Ahn Sang-soo and Portman Holdings Vice Chairman Jack Portman signed the MOU at the World Trade Club in Atlanta. The construction consortium led by Portman Holdings plans to complete the tower by 2015.
The proposed 151 story building, which would be 610 meters tall, will be the world's second-highest tower in the world. The tallest will be the 160 story Burj Tower in Dubai, the world's tallest building currently under construction. The Incheon Tower is two times higher than the nation's current tallest building, the Tower Palace, which stands at 264 meters.
Three sky bridges will stretch between the twin-towered buildings to link them together. The Incheon Tower will also house hotels, offices, convention centers and shopping malls.
"With inclusion of the 151 story twin tower in the IFEZ, Incheon will be transformed into a world-class business city on par with Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Dubai," Mayor Ahn said. Ahn also said the twin towers will become the landmark that symbolizes Korea's future growth potential and opportunities.
"Incheon City and Korea's central government will provide all-out support to the Portman consortium," Ahn said. The Portman consortium plans to finance 40 percent of the US$11 billion investment through internal financing and raise the remaining 60 percent through investment banks and investment funds both at home and abroad.
EXPO 2009
Incheon City also decided to hold the Incheon International City EXPO in 2009 in an attempt to herald the importance of the IFEZ as a center for Northeast Asian logistics business to foreign investors and to promote the brand value of Incheon, Mayor Ahn said.
"We decided to hold the Incheon EXPO in 2009 when a dozen of 40 to 50 story buildings will be established and a number of foreign companies engage in business in the IFEZ," he said.
In 2009, the construction of the Incheon Grand Bridge linking Incheon International Airport and Songdo will also be completed, making Incheon a complex city equipped with almost all infrastructure ranging from business to culture and environment, said Ahn.
"These projects will make Incheon City a heart of Korea, so I think it is necessary to herald the high value of Incheon to the global society through an international event," he said.
"Ahead of the Incheon EXPO, we will make a city declaration to let the world know the harmonized, future-oriented and upgraded image of Incheon City and develop the city into a hub of Northeast Asia," said Ahn.
The main theme of the Incheon EXPO is A City for All Asians and Beyond, reflecting the city's dream to become an international city in the 21st century and pursue exchanges with global citizens through the EXPO.
The Incheon International City EXPO will be held in such free economic zones as Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongnam with an estimated 10 million visitors in attendance during the period from mid-August 2009 to the end of October.
Visitors to the Incheon EXPO will be largely classified into the two categories: the Core Target category including experts in the international logistics and business and the Mass Target category including general spectators.
During the Incheon EXPO period, the city plans to display the development progress of the IFEZ, landmark structures and historical relics as well as development models symbolizing the dynamic Incheon City.
Along with this, Incheon City plans to hold an exhibition boasting of itself as a logistics city in Northeast Asia, hold academic international meetings and conduct a variety of festivals and entertainment events.
New Town development plan
In the past, Incheon City concentrated its efforts on development of a new downtown area centering on economic free zones as a means to seek great economic ripple effects while neglecting the development of the old downtown area. However, the development of the new downtown area centering on economic free zones has been achieved. Therefore, Incheon City plans to concentrate its administrative ability on restoration projects for the existing old downtown area, Mayor Ahn said.
To remove the polarization phenomenon of downtown development, Incheon City has decided to convert the existing Kyongin Expressway section into general roads. At the same time, it will build a city complex on 290,000 pyong (957,000 square meters) of land in the Gajeong five-way crossing to make the place a beautiful spot like La Defense of France.
Along with this, Incheon City will make a strong push for restoration of the old downtown area in the city, including a project for development of East Incheon Station and Jemulpo Station and a new town project for Dohwa district in an attempt to reduce the polarization phenomenon.
After all, such projects will greatly contribute to not only easing polarization in terms of downtown development but also creating more jobs, Mayor Ahn explained.
Concretely speaking, Incheon City will create a task force to develop such regions with a poor living environment as Akasaki village in the Manseok district in Donggu. The task force will develop the neighborhod into a residential area with a favorable environment, he said.
The city will also push for various projects to deliver the synergy effects of the development of economic free zones to old downtown regions for balanced development and inject fresh vigor into the regions, Ahn said.
It will push ahead with a project to stretch out the existing line of the Kyongin Expressway in order to link Incheon economic free zones with Seoul directly to maximize the synergistic effects of the IFEZ development.
To improve the environment of the underdeveloped western region, Incheon City will actively push for a project to create a new town in the the Gajeong five-way crossing area. Under the project, an advanced city complex comprising commercial structures and three-dimensional public transportation, including a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, will be established in the Gajeong area. The starting point of the Kyongin Expressway penetrating Incheon City from east to west will be changed from Yonghyeon-dong to Wonchang-dong and the existing roads will be converted into trunk roads.
Busses, parks and tourism
The city will also introduce advanced mass transportation systems including Light Rail Transit (LRT), TRAM and BRT in order to make Incheon a threedimensional city placing the first priority on pedestrians.
Along with this, Incheon City will transfer polluted factories in downtown areas to other regions and expand green zones further.
It will convert Sungeui Stadium into a 24-hour wellbeing town by introducing complex functions related to dwelling, commercial business, sports and leisure. The existing general sports arena will be changed into a soccer field and a baseball park and be linked with Dowon Station, activating the regional economy.
The neighborhood area of Jemulpo Station will be developed into a complex estate housing residential, commercial, business and private academic institutions. The areas adjacent to Incheon Station and East Incheon Station will be developed into a complex estate housing commercial, historical, cultural and tourism-related facilities to attract more foreign tourists who visit the country through Incheon International Airport or Incheon Port.
In the meantime, Yonghyon and Hakik districts will be developed into a city with a pleasant environment which will house various cultural and sports facilities to enhance the international status of Incheon, Mayor Ahn said.
Attraction of foreign investment
To attract more active investment from domestic and foreign enterprises, IFEZ Authority has established booths at many world-famous exhibitions, including the 2006 Venice Biennale International Architecture Exhibition.
As part of its efforts to establish networks with foreign companies and activate introduction of foreign capital, IFEZ Authority concluded a business agreement with Korea Foreign Company Association, a private business organization under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.
Despite difficulties in attracting foreign investment, IFEZ Authority succeeded in attracting US$36.7 billion in foreign investment in 37 cases as of the end of September this year.
To attract more foreign investment, the IFEZ is offering a variety of taxation and financial incentives to foreign companies doing business in the zone.
For example, foreign companies in the free economic zone are 100 percent free from national and provincial taxes for the first three business years. They are also able to enjoy a 50 percent reduction in those taxes for the next two years. In addition, foreign companies doing business in the zone will receive such favors as a reduction in rental charges of land and financial assistance for establishment of roads and other basic facilities.
For construction of an international city, the government will create a foundation for attracting foreign investment this year by carrying out reclamation and infrastructure projects as scheduled.
Along with this, it will push ahead with four differentiated strategies this year to build an international, free, 21st century city in the free economic zone.
The four strategies are construction of a state-of-the-art informatization city equipped with ubiquitous systems, construction of a greenbelt accounting for more than 36 percent of the total land, introduction of an advanced new transportation system armed with new technologies, and construction of fine scenery and high-quality basic public facilities.
IT promotional plan of Incheon City
Mayor Ahn said Incheon could offer important manufacturing as well as distribution opportunities which can help industries gain access to a vast range of markets.
Incheon's IT promotional plan is fivefold: First, Incheon will attract IT companies to the Namdong and Shiwha industrial complexes that are part of the IFEZ. At the same time, Incheon will work with these companies to help build a ubiquitous IT environment in the city. Second, the strategy is to lure futureoriented industries among IT companies and companies matching IFEZ's development profile. For instance, the digital contents industry which is well suited to Incheon could be attracted to and nurtured in the Digital Entertainment Cluster (DEC).
Third, the city will get rid of legal barriers and allow IT companies to be able to proactively advance their business and grow their support systems as necessary. Fourthly, the type of IT company that Incheon wants to attract is not the type of company that is targeted solely at the domestic market. Incheon will lure core companies which are globally competitive and whose business is strongly focused overseas.
Finally, nurturing IT companies for the city is not merely about fostering IT itself. We will make efforts to lure similar industries across the IT value chain and secure the necessary manpower and support network base to allow these companies to develop autonomously, said Ahn.
| The following are excerpts from an interview with Incheon Metropolitan City Mayor Ahn Sang-soo. --Ed. Q: Incheon City will construct the 151 story Incheon Tower, the world's second highest tower, by 2015. Would you comment on the meaning of the Incheon Tower A: Firstly, the development of the landmark tower that attracts attention from the world will bring about strong PR effects to attract IT, BT and R&D enterprises. With the development, Incheon will secure a superior position in competition with its main foreign rivals such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Shanghai. Secondly, we have secured external confidence by signing a MOU with the world-famous real estate developer Portman Holdings. It will also offer Incheon City a good chance to learn know-how of global city development and advanced architecture technology of skyscraper. Thirdly, the Incheon Tower will link Incheon International Airport with the 151-floor landmark tower, activating the convention business and generating synergy effects with the airport. Fourthly, attraction of foreigninvested companies through the development of a unique international city equipped with favorable environment for work, live and play and creation of the massive construction business will greatly contribute to activating the actual economy in Incheon. Q: Would you introduce Incheon City's plan to build the Middle East Cultural Center and its effect A: Incheon City concluded an agreement with Korea-Middle East Association on Oct. 9 this year to build the Middle East Cultural Center in Incheon in 2007. The city now is seeking a proper space to exhibit about 1,500 works showing the Middle East culture. The setup of the Middle East Cultural Center will accelerate attraction of foreign capital from the Middle East and contribute to promoting cultural and tourism exchanges between Korea and the Middle East. At the same time, it will play a great role in gaining supports from the Middle East countries for Incheon's bid to attract the 2014 Asian Game. Along with this, it will help Incheon citizens understand culture of the Middle East and accelerate personnel and economic exchanges between Korea and the Islamic world. Q: Would you comment on the Incheon City's strategy to attract the 2014 Asian Games and its rival competitors Do you think it is possible for South and North Koreas to host the Asian Game jointly A: The main competitor to attract the Asian Game is Delhi of India. Our strategy is to show Incheon's merits to the world in competition with Delhi of India and call on chairman of each country's national Olympic Committee (NOC) to make a rational judgment. I think Incheon City is superior to Delhi in terms of almost all fields, including weather, city environment, experience, marketing activities and information technology. The international sports festival is aimed at achieving peace and harmony of all human beings. Accordingly, if Incheon is selected as the host city of the Asian Game, it is possible to hand over North Korea a right to host several sports games in the North after consulting with Olympic Council of Asia (OCA). Of course, this idea is possible under the precondition that the North Korea's nuclear problem is settled smoothly. If North Korea settles its nuclear problem peacefully, I think, it is also possible for South and North Koreas to jointly host the Incheon Asian Game, like the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. |
