Land Ministry to gauge profitability of 17 airports next year


The government has decided to study whether to construct a new airport or expand existing ones next year, possibly creating a major campaign issue ahead of December’s presidential election.

According to a long-term plan on airport development announced in January last year, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is not permitted to start a new study on airport operations until 2014.

The ministry, however, recently decided to advance the original plan by one year as some airports such as Jeju International Airport and Gimhae International Airport are currently operating at near-full capacity.

“It takes more than a year for a feasibility study and another seven to 10 years for new construction or expansion work. Considering the time limit, within which airports can maintain normal operation, we need to start research early,” said a ministry official.

The ministry has already submitted a new budget plan of around 1 billion won ($885,000) to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and plans to look into the passenger and runway capacities of the nation’s 17 airports starting next year.

According to the state-run Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, the runway capacity of Jeju Airport is expected to reach full capacity by 2019, more than five to six years earlier than the Land Ministry’s projection.

The airport saw 112,696 flights last year, up from 103,426 in 2010, while the number of travelers also surged from 12 million in 2008 to 17 million last year.

Gimhae International Airport near Busan also posted a record number of passengers this year, with the figure increasing 26.4 percent to reach 2.04 million in the first six months compared to the same period last year.

“The necessity of developing the Jeju and Gimhae airports has long been raised amid a surging demand in passengers. But we need to make a final decision through a thorough study based on accurate demand figures,” said another ministry official.

Expansion of the Gimhae airport has already become a campaign pledge of key presidential candidates such as Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party and Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party.

Ahead of the presidential election in December, lawmakers based in the nation’s southeastern “Dongnam” region, including Busan, Ulsan, Daegu and Gyeongsang Provinces, are proposing bills to host a new airport in their voting districts.

Lawmakers in Jeju are makings a similar cause for a new airport on the island.

But experts say a cautious approach must be taken, pointing out that new airports could dampen the economy of existing airports if their economic impact is not carefully studied.

Of the 16 regional airports operated by Korea Airports Corp., 13 airports ― all except Gimpo, Jeju and Gimhae ― are suffering chronic deficits from law demand. Incheon International Airport is owned separately by the state-run Incheon International Airport Corp.

Last year, the Land Ministry ditched a plan to build a new international airport in the southeast ― a campaign pledge of the current Lee Myung-bak administration in 2007 ― citing insufficient economic viability.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)