Suwon Light Rail Line North-South Section to Begin Construction in 2009

The urban light rail south-north line (Seryou Station to Sungdae Station) being pursued by Suwon City as a private proposal project is expected to begin construction as early as 2009 and be completed by 2013.

The Suwon Light Rail South-North Line is a project to construct 22 stations and one vehicle depot by 2013, spanning a total distance of 18.75 kilometers and passing through Seryou Station, Bus Terminal, City Hall, World Cup Stadium, Sports Complex, Jeongja and Cheoncheon districts, and Sungdae Station.

The total project cost amounts to 944.19 billion won, with 51 percent (480.4 billion won) funded by private capital, 29.4 percent (276.9 billion won) by government budget, and 19.6 percent (184.6 billion won) by local government funds.

Suwon City announced on the 9th that it received notification from the Public Investment Management Center (PIMAC) of the Korea Development Institute (KDI), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, confirming the feasibility of the Suwon Light Rail South-North Line project, which the Suwon Light Rail Company—formed as a consortium—had proposed in October of last year with the aforementioned details.

The Public Investment Management Center reported that after examining project eligibility, the benefit-cost ratio (B/C) analyzing economic feasibility was 1.2 (benchmark standard of 1).

Accordingly, Gyeonggi Province is known to plan to select 3 to 4 city rail projects—including those in Suwon and Gimpo—that received eligibility determinations as targets for the "Gyeonggi Province Urban Rail Basic Plan Establishment" by year-end, and complete approval of the basic plan from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport by the second half of next year.

Once the basic plan is approved, the city plans to request review from the Central Private Investment Project Review Committee. It is anticipated that government funding support will proceed smoothly once the project passes the Central Private Investment Review Committee.

The city plans to recruit private investment companies through a third-party public announcement for private investment projects, select the final operator, begin construction in mid-2009, and complete the project in the second half of 2013.

However, Gyeonggi Province, focused on various metropolitan transportation projects, has expressed reluctance, stating it lacks capacity to support local government light rail project costs. Accordingly, the city is making efforts to prepare measures for securing provincial funding.

From next month's 10th to 31st, the city plans to visit relevant agencies including the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as well as Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Railroad Infrastructure Corporation, to request cooperation.

A city official explained, "The installation of the light rail will contribute to alleviating traffic congestion caused by concentrated public transportation use and promoting balanced urban development."