The Ministry of National Defense will recalculate the project cost for the transfer of the military airport in Gwangju and will begin assessing the value of the current and transferred site. This is a follow-up measure following President Lee Jae-myung's promise to make the military airport transfer a national policy task on the 25th of last month and to form a 'cross-ministerial task force (TF).'
According to relevant departments on the 9th, the Ministry of National Defense prepared a plan for promoting the recalculation of the project cost for the transfer of the Gwangju military airport on the 2nd and began discussions. The plan reportedly includes the schedule, the number of participants, the participating agencies, and the method of calculating expenses. This content has already undergone a security review, making it possible to collaborate with other departments.
The Ministry of National Defense also prepared a plan to update the valuation of properties transferred from the military airport. The calculation of properties transferred from the military airport refers to the process of comparing the value of the site being transferred (donated property) and the value of the newly constructed alternative military airport site (donation property) after appraisal, and settling the difference. This is a key factor in determining the total project cost.
The Ministry of National Defense's recalculation of the project cost and update of the valuation for the Gwangju military airport is the first time since 2016. At that time, the total project cost of 5.748 trillion won proposed by Gwangju was deemed appropriate by the Ministry of National Defense. Although discussions on the project cost recalculation were held during the Moon Jae-in administration, it did not take place. As a significant amount of time has passed since the initial calculation, it is now being recalculated.
President Lee Jae-myung confirmed the transfer of the Gwangju military airport as a national policy task. The government is promoting the formation of a six-party task force consisting of Gwangju, Jeonnam Province, Mu-an County, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
U Sang-ho, the senior civil affairs secretary, noted during a briefing on the 7th that 'the issue of the transfer of the Gwangju military airport has been publicly discussed in a town hall meeting where the president visited (Gwangju) and was with the heads of relevant organizations, and has effectively become a presidential national agenda.'
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has also begun work on transferring the military airport. Currently, while the transfer of the military airport to Mu-an is being discussed, there are conflicts arising from noise issues. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to commission a study on 'the impact of noise from military aircraft resulting from the transfer of the Gwangju military airport to Mu-an' within this month.
A government official said, 'Once the transfer costs are calculated, they will be handed over to the intergovernmental consultation body for discussion,' adding, 'Once the project costs and support measures are determined, the local government will proceed with the process of deciding whether to accept them.'