Yongin City, New Investment Agreement for Platform City Passes Committee in Municipal Assembly

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun] The Platform City construction project being promoted by Yongin City in the Bojeong, Mabuk, and Singal-dong areas of Giheung-gu has passed the first hurdle at the Yongin City Municipal Assembly, providing momentum for project promotion.

Yongin City announced on the 10th that the "Agreement on New Investment Project Promotion for Yongin Platform City Construction" carried out jointly by the city, Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Urban Corporation, and Yongin Urban Corporation passed deliberation by the Autonomous Administration Committee, the competent standing committee of the 238th Yongin City Municipal Assembly.

The city submitted to the municipal assembly an agreement whereby Yongin Urban Corporation invests 250.3 billion won, representing 5% of the maximum cash requirement of 5 trillion 58 billion won, in the Yongin Platform City construction project into which a total project cost of 5 trillion 964.6 billion won is being invested based on construction costs.

This is in accordance with the current Local Public Enterprise Act, which stipulates that the municipal assembly must deliberate on new investment projects of 10 billion won or more.

The agreement is scheduled for final confirmation at the plenary session on December 17th.

Should the Yongin City Assembly approve the equity investment of Yongin Urban Corporation, the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, which had suspended deliberation on the related agreement last month pending the city's confirmation, is likely to approve the investment of Gyeonggi Urban Corporation as well. Gyeonggi Urban Corporation will bear the remaining 95% (4 trillion 755.5 billion won) of the funds required for this project.

The Urban Environment Committee, the competent standing committee of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, is scheduled for the 17th, with the plenary session scheduled for the 20th.

Once the city and provincial assemblies approve the investment, the Platform City construction project, which will dramatically change Yongin City's spatial structure and long-term development direction, is likely to proceed at a rapid pace.

Earlier, the city signed a memorandum of understanding with Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Urban Corporation, and Yongin Urban Corporation on May 7th to ensure successful project implementation right after Platform City was included in the government's Third New Cities Plan, and has conducted follow-up work including feasibility studies through the Public Enterprise Evaluation Institute.

In this regard, the city plans to begin development plan establishment early next year and construct 11,000 units of apartments, advanced industrial complexes, commercial and business facilities, and a multi-purpose transfer center on the 2.7㎢ site around GTX Yongin Station.

Upon completion of this project, the Platform City area will be established as an economic center as set in the Yongin Urban Basic Plan 2035, serving as one of three major hubs for the city's long-term development alongside the administrative center centered on City Hall and the new industry hub around the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster.

Baek Kun-gi, Mayor of Yongin City, said, "Once the new investment project agreement is finally passed by the City Assembly and Provincial Assembly, we will promote the Platform City construction project without disruption and create an economically self-sufficient city befitting a metropolitan area of one million people."

Meanwhile, according to the feasibility study conducted by the Public Enterprise Evaluation Institute, the Platform City construction project is estimated to have nationwide production-inducing effects of 1 trillion 272 billion won, value-added-inducing effects of 414 billion won, and employment-inducing effects of 7,515 jobs.