The Gwangju-South Jeolla Integrated Special City is working to expand a regional transport network connecting major industrial hubs in the area in preparation for the development of the Honam semiconductor cluster.
The city on Wednesday released its "2040 Gwangju Metropolitan Urban Plan," which outlines a transport expansion scheme to link Gwangju with Naju, Damyang, Hwasun, Jangseong and Hampyeong into a single integrated living zone.
The plan focuses on coordinating the industrial, residential and transport functions of surrounding cities around Gwangju as a hub, and building a regional industrial development axis connecting each area's specialized industries.
The regional industrial axis will group Gwangju and neighboring areas around locally specialized industries, including AI, energy, semiconductors, tourism and healthcare.
Among the proposed axes, the urban convergence axis includes a plan to link a semiconductor industrial complex on the site of Gwangju's military airport with the Urban Convergence Special Zone in Seo-gu's Sangmu district, with the aim of building a global supply chain for cutting-edge innovative companies.
The initiative is designed with the Honam semiconductor cluster development in mind, with plans to create an innovation space equipped not only with industrial facilities but also with mixed-use infrastructure covering residential and cultural functions.
The plan also incorporates measures to expand the regional transport network needed to support these goals.
The scheme calls for improving access across the integrated living zone through the construction of regional rail lines connecting Gwangju-Naju and Gwangju-Hwasun, as well as a light rail line between Gwangju and Damyang.
The plan also proposes introducing a BRT system within the metropolitan area to improve public transit service between communities.
For advanced industry clusters such as the semiconductor complex, the city is considering extending the Dalbit Inland Railway and introducing BRT routes, and plans to build an open transport network linking Cheomdan to Jangseong, Songjeong to Bitgreen, and Daechon to the Innovation City to Naju.
The integrated city said it will analyze transport demand generated by the semiconductor industrial complex development and refine its regional transport network plan accordingly.
sij@heraldcorp.com
