SEOUL, KOREA - A study said Gimhae International Airport will reach a saturation point by 2023 as the demand for passenger flight services rises quickly. Based on this forecast, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation has decided to conduct feasibility studies on possible locations for new airports in the Gyeongsang region.

 

 

 

The ministry held a presentation session on August 25 to discuss the air service demand in the southeast. According to Aeroports de Paris, or Paris Airport Authority, and the Korea Transport Institute, based on research for the past one year, the number of passengers using Gimhae Airport will double to 21.62 million by 2030, with an annual growth rate of 4.7 percent for 15 years. The airport near Busan has seen a rapid growth in passenger numbers, from 6.87 million in 2009 to 9.67 million in 2013. By the year 2023, the number would reach 16.78 million and start to congest the runways.

 

The same is true for Daegu Airport, according to the studies. The passenger number at the airport is forecast to rise to 2.78 million from 1.08 million last year, with an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent. The combined passenger number of the airports in Ulsan, Pohang, and Sacheon will increase to 1.03 million by 2030 from 830,000 in 2013.

 

As the government made clear its intentions to build new airports in the Gyeongsan region, a contest to host an airport to local communities has begun. The most likely candidates are Gadeok Island in Busan and Hanam Township in the city of Miryang in South Gyeongsang Province. The Busan city government is pushing forward with a plan to build a new airport complementing Gimhae Airport while the Daegu city government is trying to host an airport in Miryang. 

 

But it remains to be seen whether the plans will pan out as hoped for as it will cost more than 10 trillion won to build an airport and it will take a consensus among local communities with the final conclusion by the Ministry of Strategy & Finance.