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| Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok delivers a speech on the port city's development plans for the year at a forum in Songdo, Incheon, Jan. 7. / Courtesy of IFEZ |
By Choi Kyong-ae
The Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ) has set a target to attract $930 million in foreign direct investment (FDI) this year by fostering the biotechnology and services industries while tackling pending problems that have been holding the zone back in recent years.
Comprised of Songdo, Cheongna and Yeongjong Island, the IFEZ raked in $1.2 billion in FDI last year, accounting for 88 percent of the overall FDI won by the country's free economic zones. The total FDI bagged by the IFEZ and other free economic zones accounted for 9.0 percent, or $1.7 billion, of the country's entire FDI worth $19 billion last year.
"Despite the improved results, the IFEZ has yet to woo more foreign capital to transform itself into a full-blown free economic zone in the coming years," the IFEZ authority said in a statement.
There are some positive signs that will help the IFEZ this year and attract foreign investors to the zone.
Late last year, Samsung BioLogics began to construct a 180,000 liter biochemical plant in the IFEZ with a budget of 85 million won, paving the way for it to evolve into a global bio Mecca. Currently, IFEZ facilities are capable of producing 330,000 liters of biochemical goods, the world's largest output capacity, the statement said.
As of last September, three out of four biosimilars came from the IFEZ biotechnology complex and were approved by the authorities for sale in the domestic market, it said.
To boost the services industry, the IFEZ plans to build a variety of facilities such as casinos, complex resorts and hospitals that could create jobs in the zone.
LOCZ Korea, a consortium set up by China's Lippo Group and Caesars Entertainment from the U.S., has received approval from the Korean authorities to build a resort complex with a casino in the IFEZ, the statement said.
To ease transportation, the IFEZ authority plans to build a third bridge connecting Yeongjong Island with the mainland. A feasibility study will be completed by March 2017, it said.
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