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Busan Metropolitan City Signs Implementation Agreement for the West Busan Medical Center Private Investment Project… Expansion of Public Healthcare Infrastructure

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced today (September 5) at 10:30 a.m. in the main auditorium of Annex 2 of Saha-gu District Office, near the planned construction site of the West Busan Medical Center, that it held a ceremony with Seobu Busan Healing Planet Co., Ltd. to sign the “Implementation Agreement for the Build-Transfer-Lease (BTL) Private Investment Project for the West Busan Medical Center.”

At the ceremony, Mayor Park Heong-joon and Choi Jin-guk, President of Taeyoung Construction Co., Ltd., the lead company in the consortium of Seobu Busan Healing Planet Co., Ltd., attended to sign the implementation agreement, the final stage of the BTL contract.

The West Busan Medical Center will be constructed at 646-1 and 646-6 Sinpyeong-dong, Saha-gu.

Since September last year, the City has conducted more than 15 rounds of negotiations with Seobu Busan Healing Planet Co., Ltd., the preferred negotiation partner, and, after undergoing review by the Private Investment Project Review Committee on August 21 and reporting to the Standing Committee of the City Council on September 4, concluded the implementation agreement.

According to the agreement, the total project cost is fixed at KRW 85.826 billion (as of January 1, 2021). Ownership of the facility will revert to the City upon completion, and the project operator will retain management and operation rights for 20 years.

The annual average facility lease fee is approximately KRW 8.132 billion (at current prices), while operating costs are set at around KRW 957 million annually (as of January 1, 2023).

The construction of the West Busan Medical Center, promoted since 2015, gained full momentum after Mayor Park took office, overcoming various challenges. Despite a difficult environment where public sector construction projects were repeatedly canceled due to skyrocketing construction cost indices, the City’s active efforts secured an increased project cost cap from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, successfully attracting a project operator, and, through negotiations, reaching today’s milestone of finalizing the project operator designation.

Under the firm policy stance of “expanding the public healthcare infrastructure,” the City completed site acquisition last year (2024) and has been actively promoting the project. With the implementation agreement, the City will proceed with the designation of the project operator, establish and approve the detailed design, and begin construction in 2026, aiming for completion in 2028.

The West Busan Medical Center, promoted under the BTL system, will be a general hospital with a total floor area of 29,166.41 square meters, a site area of 14,381.5 square meters, and a scale of one underground level and six above-ground levels, accommodating 300 beds.

It will operate as a 24-hour regional emergency medical center, covering essential hospital departments, infectious disease response, and a dental care center for persons with disabilities. The facility will be equipped with advanced medical equipment such as CT and MRI systems, firmly establishing itself as a central public healthcare institution in the region.

Mayor Park stated, “After more than 10 years of earnest anticipation by citizens, the West Busan Medical Center has finally reached the stage of signing the implementation agreement. This facility, with its dental center for persons with disabilities, 24-hour regional emergency medical center, and high-quality medical services, will become both a cornerstone and model case in strengthening the public health system and realizing the vision of a ‘15-Minute Medical City.’”

He further added, “Together with Busan Medical Center in Central Busan, this hospital will serve as a vital foundation for building a safer Busan, and the City will continue to thoroughly manage and support the implementation process.”