The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City is launching a company-tailored administrative support system in step with the designation of an 8.26 million-square-meter (2.5 million-pyeong) site at the relocation grounds of the Gwangju military airport as a "candidate site for the Honam region's advanced semiconductor national industrial complex."
According to the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City on the 30th, the city will proceed with administrative procedures and infrastructure development in line with the investment schedules of Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and SK hynix (000660.KS), the two pillars of the Honam region's semiconductor cluster.
First, the city plans to expand the industrial complex with the goal of completing a world-class semiconductor production facility (fab) in June 2030, and to continue discussions on creating a corporate-style advanced city equipped with a supporting residential complex as well as educational and cultural facilities. The plan is to build a world-class industrial ecosystem in which materials, parts and equipment companies, partner firms and research and development (R&D) institutions are clustered around the semiconductor production facilities.
The activation of this administrative framework follows the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) designating about 8.26 million square meters around the Gwangju military airport as a candidate site for the Honam region's advanced semiconductor national industrial complex the previous day, after review and resolution by the Industrial Location Policy Deliberation Committee.
MOLIT designated 2.5 million pyeong as the priority candidate site, reflecting the plant site demand of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix. It is also reviewing plans to further expand the candidate site so that partner firms, research institutions, and residential, educational and cultural facilities can be developed together in the future.
Accordingly, the Integrated Special City is accelerating efforts to secure infrastructure such as power and water, which are essential for building the semiconductor cluster.
Operating one semiconductor fab requires about 1 GW to 1.5 GW of power, and once two initial fabs are in operation, power demand of 2 GW will arise. Currently, the power self-sufficiency rate of Jeonnam-Gwangju stands at about 170 percent, so there is no problem with the initial power supply.
Water supply is also expected to be smooth. One fab requires more than 60,000 to 100,000 tons of water per day. The Deoknam Water Treatment Plant conduit tunnel construction is currently underway, making it possible to supply 200,000 tons of water from the initial stage. In the long term, the city plans to increase the water volume of the Dongbok Dam and pursue connections to the wide-area water supply network.
Recently, Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have visited the Gwangju military airport site one after another, beginning on-site inspections and practical discussions related to investment. The specific details were not disclosed, but they are known to have intensively examined the site conditions, infrastructure and future implementation schedule.
Min Hyung-bae, mayor of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, said, "The Gwangju military airport site is the optimal location for the semiconductor industry, equipped with abundant renewable energy and water. We will become a 'one team' with related agencies including the government and companies to seamlessly support all administrative procedures, from industrial complex designation and compensation to infrastructure development."
