Incheon, port city on the west of South Korea, will officially launch the Geomdan Smart City new town development project next month with its big investor from Middle East flying in to attend the launching ceremony.

According to real estate industry sources on Sunday, Incheon city will hold a ceremony announcing the start of the Geomdan Smart City new town development project in Dongdaemun Design Plaza, east of Seoul on October 6. United Arab Emirates (UAE) is investing 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) into the new town development project.

UAE’s Cabinet Affairs Minister Mohammed Al Gergawi and representatives of sovereign wealth fund managers - Temasek Holdings of Singapore, Kuwait Investment Authority, Qatar Investment Authority, and Au Dabi’s Mubadala Development Co. - will be attending the project launching ceremony. The heads of UAE’s state-owned SmartCity Dubai, Emaar, and Jumeirah Group as well as the representatives of Abu Dhabi`s leading property developer Aldar Properties and India’s largest IT industry association Nasscom will also attend the event.

Incheon city and UAE’s state-owned SmartCity Dubai in January this year signed an agreement to create the Smart City Korea on 4.7 million square meters big plot of land in Geomdan new town site, Incheon, west of Seoul. The two parties also established a special purpose company with $5 million capital to manage the project. The Geomdan new town district is area designated for new city development in Incheon, but the city development project has been put on hold for about 10 years until now.

The special purpose company has been in price negotiations with the land owners Incheon city and Korea Land and Housing Corp. since June, and they reportedly are in the final stage of negotiations.

The Geomdan Smart City will include 210,000 square meters sector for financial centers, shopping mall, and luxury hotel, and 320,000 square meters sector for exhibition and multi-purpose performance center. A total of 340,000 square meters will be allocated for schools and other educational institutions while 470,000 square meters will be designed to encompass hospitals and health care centers. The new town will also have 340,000 square meters commercial sector and 1.16 million square meters residential district.

By Lim Young-sin

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