By Kwak In-Sub
Administrator, Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office (BRMAFO)
What will visitors to Busan remember when they leave the port city? I'm concerned that they might bring with them a memory of gigantic cranes, containers, and heavy traffic.
It is a pity that Busan Port, the world's fifth largest in terms of TEUs, does not yet have its representative architecture as Sydney's Opera House or Yokohama's Landmark Tower.
Artist's drawing of proposed renovation plan of the North Harbor
BRMAFO plans to develop Busan Port into a Eurasian gate which combines its function of logistics center and cultivated maritime culture. With the confirmation of the the city's North Harbor renovation plan last month, the office is ready to push forward the first phase of such efforts.
In January 2004, the government launched the Busan Port Authority to speed up Busan Port's development and allocated 3 trillion won for the renovation.
The government opened the New Port in January 2006, earlier than the original plan, in order to lessen the freight load rushing into the North Harbor.
The government has strenuously tried to reflect public opinion in the North Harbor's renovation. It conducted two surveys to come up with a blueprint for the refurbishment, and asked for the opinions of 1,600 citizens each time.
The North Harbor, which has suffered from traffic jams and loud noise, is ready to be reborn as a maritime cultural hub with grand support from its citizens.
The refurbishment is also expected to reap sizable economic profits. By 2020, it will create value-added profits worth 32 trillion won and 120,000 new jobs. In the long-term plan, the government plans to construct districts of international cooperation, a leisure town, and maritime science and industrial park in the harbor.
Now, the national government, Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Port Authority should exert collaborative efforts to establish a multi-functional maritime zone in the North Harbor, which will work as a strategic point of international logistics and commerce.
If successful, the renovation project will make the North Harbor the maritime heart of Northeast Asia and a model for renovating an aging facility.
The source of news : Korea.net August 26, 2007
