New Int'l Airport Gives Korea Regional Prominence

<B>New Int'l Airport Gives Korea Regional Prominence</B>

By Judy Jacobs

The expected opening of the new Inchon International Airport near Seoul this week will establish Korea as a major gateway to northeast Asia. IIA will be the capital's first 24-hour facility and one that can compete with the string of new airports that have cropped up in Asia over the past half-decade.

Located between Japan and China, Inchon is at the crossroads of one of the world's most populous and potentially prosperous regions. More than 40 major cities are less than a four-hour flight away, and more than 1 billion people live within a 600-mile radius.

With so many people within its reach, Inchon International Airport is expected to be a boon for business travel to Korea and beyond. "Frankly, it takes business travel into Korea into a new era," said an IIA official. "We all recognized that business travelers today are far more demanding, and the facilities at the existing airport, Kimpo, don't meet the standards expected by international business people. In this respect, Korea's gateway lags behind other airports in the region and around the world. This will be changed overnight with the opening of the new airport."

The new airport will have a far greater capacity for passengers and flights than Seoul's current facility. Whereas Kimpo can handle 17.2 million passengers, IIA will have an annual capacity of 27 million passengers upon opening and up to 100 million passengers per year by 2020. Because it was restricted by a noise curfew that limited operations, Kimpo averaged just 20 takeoffs and landings per hour. In contrast, Inchon will operate around the clock and be able to handle an average of 38 departures and arrivals each hour. The airport will open with two runways during the first phase of development and be expanded to four runways by the time the facility is completed in 2020.

Following in the footsteps of Kuala Lumpur, whose new airport sports an environmental theme, IIA also incorporates the natural environment. Built on Yongjong-do Island, the airport is built on reclaimed tidelands and includes nine parks with native trees and plants.

Dubbed "The Winged City," Inchon International Airport has plans that will take it far beyond a mere air facility. It is, in fact, slated to be a center for business and trade and will include a business center, two hotels and a free-trade zone. "Inchon will have all the amenities one would expect for business people," the airport official said. "We have included business service and conferencing facilities, Internet kiosks, international quality restaurants and leisure and relaxation facilities for transiting business people. We are also building an International Business Center with office towers, shops and hotels. We are creating a community in itself, hence The Winged City."

The business center, which will include department stores, restaurants and sports facilities, partially will open at the same time as IIA. The other components--two hotels and an officetel with rentable office space--will open during the next two or three years. One of the hotels, a 534-room property being constructed by Korean Airlines, is expected to open in March 2003. As an alternative option, Walker Hill Hotel Co. will manage the Transit Hotel, which is located on the fourth floor of the IIA passenger terminal and offers 100 guest rooms available for six-hour stays.

Meanwhile, the plan for the free-trade zone was approved by the National Assembly late last year, but the details have not yet been released. The targeted businesses and industries, however, include storage, distribution and delivery, airplane parts, wine packaging, electronics communications and apparel.

The zone, which is scheduled to be established by January 2004, will be located near the cargo terminals. National, regional and development taxes will be waived for businesses operating within the zone, and these businesses can import equipment and materials without paying tariffs. Other incentives also will be given to foreign investors in line with Korea's legislation for free-trade zone promotion.

The airport's location, 34 miles from Seoul, has been of concern to travelers-- especially since the new high-speed railway linking Inchon with Seoul will not be in service until 2005 and not be completed to downtown Seoul until 2007. Access currently is via a new expressway, which officially opened Nov. 20, 2000.

"The road has lived up to its promise. Despite the additional distance of the new facility from Kimpo Airport, the time it takes to reach it is barely different, given the traffic conditions on the Kimpo road," said the Inchon official. "Drivers say they are making the trip from Seoul city center in around 50 minutes." The 24-mile highway project took five years to build and includes the 2.7-mile double-decker road-and-rail Yongjong Grand Bridge, which connects the mainland with Yongjong-do Island and the airport.