Busan-Jinhae FEZ Attracts $188 Mil. Plant
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Starff Reporter
Kim Moon-hee, commissioner of the Busan-Jinhae Free Economic Zone Authority (BJFEZA), signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday with Yoon Seong-duk, CEO of TK Corporation, on establishing a pipe plant on 89,000 square meters of land in the FEZ's Hwajeon Industrial Complex by the second half of 2009.
The establishment of the industrial equipment company is expected to create some 450 jobs for the 188 billion won ($188 million) plant.
A Japanese industrial machinery firm, Otofuji Corporation, is also involved in the project with a 30 billion won investment.
The BJFEZA said it is satisfied with the deal since it is an exemplary case of inducing foreign direct investment, which well serves the purpose of the economic zone.
With the signing, more than 90 percent of Hwajeon district, the total size of which is 1.4 million square meters, is occupied.
Earlier, the authority signed with LS Industrial System and its affiliated companies, along with KPE, a leading alternative energy firm, to move their factories to the zone. Over a million square meters of land is designated for associated industrial complexes and other business uses.
The BJFEZA is also planning additional site development while urging the government to lift limits on development in nearby areas, to meet investors' needs and secure more space for the zone.
The BJFEZ, the second South Korean FEZ following the one in Incheon, is located in South Gyeongsang Province in the vicinity of Busan, the nation's second largest city.
Seated on 105 square kilometers of land, the industrial zone is composed of five areas and 16 districts specializing in different industries.
Since its establishment in March 2004, the BJFEZA has induced a total of $4.8 billion in investment and aims to entice $200 million this year.