The island’s second airport plan was a contentious issue at last week’s provincial inquiry session at the provincial council. The ‘AirCity’ concept proposed by the governor and compensation plans for residents near the airport site were among the big issues. Mike Laidman has more.

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Provincial inquiry session
Concept of AirCity at 2nd airport proves controversial

A provincial inquiry session was held one week after the location for the island’s second airport was selected. Here, the governor found himself being questioned by the provincial council.

As expected, the councilors had more than just a few issues with the planned facility.

Among the most controversial is the concept of the AirCity itself, a planned commercial complex with shopping and recreational facilities that would be built near the new airport.

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‘Time not yet right for AirCity plan’

The councilors argued that the idea of the AirCity is too ambiguous, and that the time is not yet right for such a facility because plans for the new airport itself, as well as its budget, have not yet been drawn up.

SYNC
Kim Yong-beom, Councilor
The province is planning a fast transportation network to link the second airport and other parts of the island within 15 or 20 minutes. I doubt the AirCity would be needed under such circumstances. The plans don’t make sense.
"15분에서 20분으로 단축할 수 있는 쾌속교통망을 만들겠다고 하는데 과연 또 에어시티가 필요한지..여러가지 말이 앞 뒤가 다 안맞아요."

Governor Won Heeryong said the local government will lead the AirCity project.

SYNC
Won Heeryong / Governor
Councilors are asking for a compensation plan for area residents. I firmly believe that development plans for the surrounding areas should be made alongside the airport construction plans to ensure proper compensation.
"공항보상 대책만 세우라고 하는데 공항만 짓고 그냥 가게되면 그 다음엔 주변 개발계획은 세울 수가 없습니다. 초기에 같이 계획해야 합니다."

Compensation for aircraft noise and land expropriation was among the issues raised.

Councillors asked for a reasonable compensation plan from the provincial government as that from the national government doesn’t fully cover the losses residents would face.

SYNC
Go Jeong-sik/Councilor
The province should seek ways to compensate area residents for their losses in addition to the help from the national level. What do you think about this?
"별도의 중앙정부에서 지원하는 예산을 빼고 우리 도에서 지원할 수
있는 방안을 강구해야 한다... 어떻게 생각하십니까."

SYNC
Won Heeryong / Governor
We need to create comprehensive development plans for the areas surrounding the new airport site next year. Compensation for residents who would be directly affected by the new facility will be a focus of these plans.
"저희가 내년에 전문가 용역을 통해 공항 주변에 대한 종합적인 개발 구상을 할 필요가 있다. 이 과정에는 1차적으로 피해를 당하는 주민들의 보상과 개발이익의 부분적인 환원 이부분에 초점을 둘 것입니다."

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Kim Seung-cheol, Kim Yong-min

Regarding the real-estate market, Won emphasized that his office will take a close look at land transaction data and deal with any abnormal transactions quickly and efficiently.

[reporter]
Mike Laidman

Meanwhile, 150 million won has already been set aside for research into the AirCity development plan. The money comes without approval by the deliberative committee nor via a contract to researchers. AirCity is proving to be a highly controversial move well before it even gets off the ground.

Mike Laidman, KCTV