Busan is good

Busan Selected for National Project to Strengthen Global Competitiveness in Naval MRO for Small and Medium Shipbuilders

내용

Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that it has been finally selected for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s “Support Program for Strengthening Global Competitiveness in Naval Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) for Small and Medium Shipbuilders.”

With this selection, the city has secured KRW 25 billion in national funding and will carry out a five-year project starting this year to enhance the capabilities of local small and medium shipbuilders and equipment companies in the global naval MRO sector.

This project will be jointly carried out with Busan, Ulsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Jeollanam-do. It will be led by the Research Institute of Medium & Small Shipbuilding located in Busan, with participation from Busan Technopark, Gyeongnam Technopark, Ulsan Technopark, and the Korea Marine Equipment Association.

The project aims to secure sustainable growth engines for Korea’s small and medium shipbuilding industry by entering the global naval MRO market and strengthening the foundation for participation in the global defense supply chain.

In response to the U.S. MASGA (Make American Shipbuilding Great Again) project and the restructuring of the naval MRO supply chain in Northeast Asia, the city plans to support the transition of local shipyards and marine equipment companies into the naval MRO industry, thereby creating a new growth axis for Busan’s shipbuilding industry.

Based on preliminary demand surveys from companies, the project will focus on corporate support and the training of specialized personnel to facilitate the transition into the naval MRO industry.

[Corporate Support] A total of 200 support cases will be implemented, reflecting on-site demands from local shipbuilding companies. The city plans to provide comprehensive package-type support to help companies firmly establish themselves in the market, including ▲leasing dedicated naval MRO yard facilities ▲support for acquiring U.S. naval maintenance certifications (MSRA, ABR) ▲technical support for Korea–U.S. supply chain cooperation.

[Workforce Development] The project will also focus on addressing chronic labor shortages in the industry. It aims to train 2,000 job-ready professionals who can be immediately deployed in the field. Training allowances and employment incentives will be provided to graduates to create a virtuous cycle linking training directly to employment.

In addition, the city plans to use this naval MRO project as a stepping stone to maximize economic ripple effects in the regional shipbuilding and defense industries and further strengthen industrial competitiveness.

Busan is a key hub of the shipbuilding industry, home to major shipyards such as HJ Shipbuilding & Construction and Daesun Shipbuilding, repair shipyards in Yeongdo and Saha, and 52.8% (171 companies) of Korea’s marine equipment firms. Based on this ecosystem, the city plans to expand the shipbuilding industry into a high value-added defense industry.

The expansion of the shipbuilding ecosystem through this project is expected to generate economic effects including KRW 109.9 billion in production inducement, KRW 32.7 billion in value-added inducement, and 321 jobs.

The city is making all-out efforts to identify regionally specialized defense projects such as naval MRO and to secure national funding, centering on the Defense Industry Task Force newly established this year.

Going forward, Busan Metropolitan City plans to create synergies by linking with the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s “Naval MRO Cluster Project” and the “Defense Innovation Cluster Development Project,” and to foster the defense industry as a key future industry for Busan.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “This project selection will serve as a momentum to revitalize Busan’s small and medium shipbuilders and marine equipment companies,” adding, “We will actively support the local shipbuilding industry to secure new growth engines by linking with the global defense supply chain.”