Manufacturing base to grow alongside port

Machinery, robotics, shipbuilding and defense industries to be integrated

Jinhae New Port [Provided by Changwon City]
Jinhae New Port [Provided by Changwon City]

Changwon City announced Monday that it plans to accelerate work on a strategy to develop Jinhae New Port into a key hub for Arctic shipping routes. The city envisions combining the port's capacity to berth ultra-large 25,000-TEU vessels with the machinery, robotics, shipbuilding and defense manufacturing base of the Changwon National Industrial Complex, creating a structure in which the port and industry grow together.

The Arctic route is gaining viability as sea ice recedes. At roughly 15,000 kilometers between Busan and Rotterdam, it would cut about 5,000 kilometers off the approximately 20,000-kilometer Suez Canal route. The government is targeting 2030 for the launch of regular service on the route.

Jinhae New Port is a national project to build 21 berths and a 6.98 million-square-meter logistics complex behind the port, with a total project cost of 14.66 trillion won ($10.8 billion). The first phase — nine berths at 7.91 trillion won — is set for completion by 2032, and the second phase of six berths at 3.85 trillion won will proceed between 2032 and 2040. A third phase of six berths at 2.88 trillion won will follow in stages depending on cargo volume trends. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to complete the three hinterland districts — Namyang, Seongnae and Wonpo — by 2035.

As Arctic routes become more active, demand is expected to grow for polar-capable and specialized vessels, as well as engines, propulsion systems, insulation and sensor systems, port equipment and automation systems. The Changwon City Research Institute proposed a vision linking Jinhae New Port as a logistics and operations hub, the Changwon National Industrial Complex as a manufacturing and technology hub, and local universities and research institutions as a research and workforce hub.

The city has incorporated the development of Jinhae New Port as an Arctic route hub into its 85-point campaign pledge action plan. Since October, it has been running a task force on Jinhae New Port development and construction administration reform, holding working-level meetings twice a week. Talks are also continuing to include the "CTX-Jinhae Line" — a rail link connecting Jinhae New Port, Gadeokdo New Airport and the broader rail network — in the fifth national railway network development plan. South Gyeongsang Province is set to wrap up a research project covering five tasks, including smart port development and ship maintenance, repair and overhaul, by December, and the Changwon City Council adopted a resolution in October urging the government to designate the port as a hub and push forward the CTX connection.

The Korea Maritime Institute and other organizations project that development of Jinhae New Port will generate about 28 trillion won ($20.6 billion) in production-inducing effects, about 22 trillion won in value-added effects and roughly 17,000 jobs.

"Jinhae has been a naval city defined by patriotism and dedication for more than 80 years, but it will now reinvent itself as the center of the Arctic shipping era," Changwon Mayor Kang Ki-yun said. "We will work closely with the government."


ook967@heraldcorp.com