The opening of the new airport on Busan’s Gadeok Island, initially scheduled for 2029, is now effectively delayed. Hyundai Engineering & Construction consortium, the preferred bidder for the project, submitted a revised design to the government on April 28, proposing a nine-year construction period instead of the originally planned seven years. The South Korean government had previously intended to open the airport’s runway and terminal by December 2029, with full completion within seven years.
The project faced challenges due to a lack of competing bidders, which led the government to opt for a negotiated contract. This makes it impossible to modify the terms once they are set. The government had outlined a budget of 10.5 trillion won and a seven-year timeline, but Hyundai E&C’s request for an extension effectively signals the infeasibility of the original plan, according to experts.
There are growing concerns that Hyundai E&C’s status as the preferred bidder may be revoked, which could restart the bidding process, further delaying the project. This issue is expected to become a key point of debate in the upcoming June elections. The Busan city government has expressed regret and emphasized that the project must be completed within the original seven-year timeline. The Busan chapter of the Democratic Party of Korea has called for an investigation into the delay.
The Gadeok Island airport project, one of South Korea’s largest civil engineering ventures, involves a 10.5 trillion won investment for land development alone. After four failed bidding rounds last year, Hyundai E&C was selected as the preferred bidder. The consortium has spent about six months working on the design and submitted its final plan to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport.
The ministry expressed frustration, stating that changes to the terms are not possible and questioning why Hyundai participated in the bidding process if the original conditions were unworkable. Hyundai E&C argued that, after a thorough analysis, the original terms were unrealistic. One consortium member pointed out that building a runway on reclaimed land in less than four years would be impossible, given the revised timeline.
The consortium also indicated that an increase in construction costs is unavoidable due to rising material prices and the extended timeline, estimating that an additional 1 trillion won would be required.
The land ministry plans to hold a meeting of the Central Deliberative Committee on Construction Technology soon to discuss whether Hyundai E&C’s preferred bidder status should be revoked. If this happens, the bidding process could take an additional six months to a year, raising concerns about the availability of another suitable bidder.
Industry experts argue that the rushed timeline is causing significant issues. Initially proposed in 2006 under former President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration, the Gadeok Island airport project was scrapped in favor of expanding Gimhae Airport in 2016. However, it was revived in 2021 as part of a campaign promise ahead of the Busan mayoral by-election, with the government exempting the project from a feasibility study and passing a special law to expedite the process.
The push to complete the airport by 2029 was also driven by the goal of hosting the 2030 World Expo in Busan. The original plan called for a 2035 opening, but the timeline was shortened to 2029 to align with Expo preparations. Despite concerns about the feasibility of such a tight schedule, the government pushed ahead with the plan.
Industry insiders have continuously raised concerns about the feasibility of the timeline. Originally, the airport was to be built entirely on the sea. However, to shorten the construction period, the design was modified to include both land and sea construction. This change raised concerns about uneven ground settling, which could disrupt the runway construction due to the difference in support capacity between the land and sea foundations.
With the 2029 opening now in doubt, public opinion in Busan is growing increasingly vocal. As the election approaches, the issue could become a major political point of contention. Vice Mayor Kim Gwang-hoe has urged the government to propose a more realistic construction timeline, factoring in site conditions and construction capabilities. The Democratic Party’s Busan chapter has vowed to demand the resignation of Mayor Park Heong-joon, accusing him of allowing the project’s delays to push the airport’s opening to 2035 or even 2040, with construction companies reaping the benefits.
