South Gyeongsang Province has drawn up a master plan for an urban air mobility (UAM) pilot project along the southern coast, centering on Tongyeong and Goseong. The plan calls for three vertiports and six tourism routes, with commercial operations targeted to begin after 2030.
The province held a final briefing Monday at the South Gyeongsang Provincial Library in Changwon to present findings from a study commissioned to establish the master plan for the southern coast tourism UAM pilot project. The initiative is being developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's Southern Region Wide-Area Tourism Development project. About 20 officials and experts from the Korea AeroSpace Administration, Korea Airports Corp., Korean Air and other related agencies attended to discuss cooperation.
Under the plan, UAM infrastructure will be built at three sites: the Donam tourist zone in Tongyeong, the Marine Sports Academy in Goseong, and a marine experience complex tourism facility. The total project cost for constructing the vertiports — the core infrastructure — is estimated at 59.8 billion won ($38.8 million), to be funded equally through national and local government contributions.
The six planned routes consist of three circular routes and three connecting routes linking major tourist destinations. A feasibility analysis put the benefit-cost ratio at 1.03.
Assuming a per-passenger fare of 150,000 won, annual ridership is projected at 72,000 to 112,000 in Tongyeong and 31,000 to 45,000 in Goseong. Total annual ridership across the southern coast area is estimated at up to 150,000.
Based on the study results, the province plans to apply to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the second half of this year for designation as a UAM pilot operating zone. The final designation process under the ministry's official notice is expected to take about six months. Once designated, the zone would benefit from regulatory exemptions under aviation law, streamlining aircraft verification and approval procedures.
After securing the pilot zone designation, the province plans to proceed with vertiport construction and aircraft verification before launching commercial flights after 2030.
"This master plan is the starting point for linking southern coast tourism with future air mobility," said Lee Dong-hun, head of South Gyeongsang Province's aerospace industry division. "We will push ahead without delay on securing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's pilot zone designation and building the vertiports."
ook967@heraldcorp.com
