FOREIGN INVESTMENTS ON INCHEON PORT

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Foreign investors are rushing to take part in the Golden Harbor project at the Incheon Port New International Passenger Terminal. The Incheon Port Authority has signed an MOU with a consortium led by a Swedish marina builder and plans to hold an open bidding in the first half of next year.

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Incheon Port Authority's Golden Harbor development project entails building a marina, resort facilities, a hotel and a shopping mall at a spot known for the golden sunset. Investors are rushing to take part in the project ahead of the opening of the New International Passenger Terminal in June. The first to join is a consortium led by SF Marina, a Swedish marina developer with one hundred years of experience.

[Soundbite] MICHAEL SIGVARDSSON(CEO, SF MARINA)

The SF Marina consortium, which has built 1,500 marinas around the globe, signed an MOU worth 5.8 trillion won with the Incheon Port Authority. The recent rush of foreign investors came after the Act on Free Economic Zones was revised in August. Overlapping regulations with the Port Act were removed, prompting four to five foreign investors to take interest in the project and submit their investment plans. In the first half of next year the Incheon Port Authority plans to hold an open bidding to sell the Golden Harbor site measuring some 429,000 square meters. The bid amount is estimated be about one trillion won.

[Soundbite] HONG KYUNG-SUN(ACTING PRES., INCHEON PORT AUTHORITY) : "We will strike an investment deal to make Golden Harbor the world's best multifunctional marine tourism complex."

The Golden Harbor project is expected to become an even more attractive investment option once the new international passenger terminal opens next year and people move into new apartment buildings nearby.