Hwaseong City Selected for 2024 First Half Railway Idle Land Utilization Project

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Lee Su-won] Hwaseong City announced on the 9th that the 'Seohae Line Pylon Gap Park' project was selected in the Korea Railroad Corporation's recruitment competition for the '2024 First Half Railway Idle Land Utilization Project.'

The Seohae Line is being promoted as a ground-level railway, and the areas passing through Hwaseong City are expected to face disruption, noise, and dust damage, requiring recovery of the disconnected community in the western region and creation of resident-focused healing spaces.

Accordingly, the city has consulted with the Korea Railroad Corporation multiple times since 2020 and, through gathering opinions from residents, selected 12 facilities to be introduced and project sites. The city applied for the recruitment project in February of this year.

Following on-site preliminary review in May and deliberation by the utilization review committee in July, the recruitment project was finally selected on this day.

Through the 'Seohae Line Pylon Gap Park' project, the city plans to invest a total project cost of 3.5 billion won in railway bridges and remaining land totaling 23,300 square meters in Hyungnam-eup, Paltan-myeon, and Namyang-eup of Hwaseong City to develop sports facilities such as gateball courts, multipurpose fields, tennis courts, and footgolf courts, as well as pocket parks. The city plans to complete projects sequentially by 2027 and operate the facilities.

Hwaseong City Mayor Jung Myeong-geun stated, "When the Seohae Line opens in October and living sports infrastructure utilizing the remaining Seohae Line railway land is expanded, it is expected to greatly contribute to improving residents' welfare," adding, "We will do our best to promote the project promptly so that citizens can use the facilities conveniently and safely."