Gyeonggi Province to Pursue Hyundok District Development Project through Public-Private Partnership

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 28th that it will pursue the Hyundok District development project in the Yellow Sea Economic Free Zone through a public-private partnership method and will conduct recruitment of private operators.

Under the public-private joint development method, the public sector will participate through Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Development Corporation (30%+1 share) and Pyeongtaek Urban Development Corporation (20%), sharing equity with private operators (50%-1 share) to proceed with the Hyundok District development project. Through this recruitment, the province plans to apply the 'development profit return to citizens' initiative, one of Governor Lee Jae-myung's key campaign pledges, to the Hyundok District, returning development profits generated from the project to local residents through expansion of infrastructure facilities.

Companies interested in participating must first submit a business participation proposal letter to the Gyeonggi Province Yellow Sea Economic Free Zone Authority by September 16, and receive business plans by November 27.

Participation eligibility includes financial investors (FI), construction investors (CI), and strategic investors (SI) who meet the qualification requirements stipulated in the 'Special Act on Designation and Operation of Economic Free Zones,' and when forming a consortium with construction companies, companies ranked in the top 50 in construction capability evaluation must be included.

The province plans to designate the preferred negotiation candidate in December through this recruitment, and from 2021 onwards, designate the alternative development operator for Hyundok District to proceed with normal project advancement.

Detailed matters regarding the recruitment can be confirmed through the recruitment guidelines posted on the Gyeonggi Province Yellow Sea Economic Free Zone Authority website (yesfez.gg.go.kr).

Meanwhile, the province designated China State Development Corp., Ltd. as the Hyundok District development operator in January 2014, but canceled the designation of the development operator in August 2018 due to failure to fulfill conditions for implementation plan approval.

In response, China State Development Corp., Ltd. filed an 'administrative lawsuit to cancel the cancellation of designation as Hyundok District development operator' against the Yellow Sea Economic Free Zone Authority, but both the first and second trial courts dismissed the case.

Currently, China State Development Corp., Ltd. has submitted a notice of grounds for final appeal, with the case pending in the Supreme Court. The province will proceed with private operator recruitment to resolve residents' inconveniences due to project delays as soon as possible, and plans to designate an alternative development operator after completing the administrative litigation.