Central Government Puts Brakes on Gwanggyo Administrative Complex Construction

The central government has moved to halt Gyeonggi Province's ambitious "New Provincial Administrative Complex Construction Project."

According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety and others on the 29th, the Central Investment and Financing Review Committee issued a "reconsider" ruling on 11 of 35 major projects for which local governments in the province requested review, approved 10 projects as "appropriate," and conditionally approved 12 projects.

In particular, the committee withheld approval for the construction of the new provincial administrative complex in Gwanggyo New City valued at 498.3 billion won and the Ilsan Seo-gu Office Complex construction project in Goyang City valued at 67.4 billion won.

The review committee reportedly stated regarding the 11 projects receiving reconsideration decisions that "the scale is excessively large, and the rationale for the projects themselves requires reconsideration and the means to secure funding remain unclear."

Along with the provincial administration complex, projects including the Comprehensive Welfare Center being pursued by Yongin City, the Siheung Cultural Arts Center, and the Gwangju Comprehensive Sports Complex construction project were also included in the reconsideration decision.

Meanwhile, in order to proceed with projects receiving reconsider verdicts, supplementary measures addressing the committee's concerns must be prepared and a new review request must be submitted.

A provincial official stated, "In the case of the provincial administrative complex, this is interpreted as a measure to comply with the detailed standards for local government administrative complexes that the Ministry of Interior and Safety is scheduled to establish by March of next year, in response to controversy over the lavish and excessive nature of the complex."