Table of Contents
- Gadeokdo New Airport: Delays Unavoidable Due to Hyundai Construction's Withdrawal
- Detailed Analysis of Hyundai Construction's Abandonment of the Gadeokdo New Airport Project
- Main Reasons for Withdrawal: Demands for Shortened Construction Period and Safety Concerns
- Hyundai Construction's Position: Abandonment of Basic Design Documents Rights, Etc.
- Conclusion, Summary
Gadeokdo New Airport: Delays Unavoidable Due to Hyundai Construction's Withdrawal
On May 30, 2025, Hyundai Construction officially announced its withdrawal from the site development of the Gadeokdo New Airport.
This seems to be the result of the failure to reconcile the construction schedule presented by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the schedule requested by Hyundai Construction. With this decision, the target for the opening of Gadeokdo New Airport, originally planned for December 2029, has become virtually unattainable, raising significant concerns about project delays.
This post will conduct an in-depth analysis of the background and reasons for Hyundai Construction's withdrawal, as well as the ripple effects of this decision and prospects for the future of the Gadeokdo New Airport project.
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Detailed Analysis of Hyundai Construction's Abandonment of the Gadeokdo New Airport Project
On May 30, 2025, Hyundai Construction stated officially that it will no longer participate in the Gadeokdo New Airport site development. This decision came about three weeks after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport rejected Hyundai Construction's request for an additional 108-month construction period and decided to halt the negotiated contract process.
The company cited as the withdrawal reason, "despite various efforts to ensure safety and quality, currently, a sufficient construction period guaranteeing perfect safety is not assured." Considering the unique characteristics of an offshore airport and the technical difficulties of large-scale civil engineering, it appears that the demand for a hasty reduction in construction time could severely threaten safety and quality.
Thus, Hyundai Construction made the decision to suspend its participation in the construction. This decision raises questions about how it will impact the progression of the Gadeokdo New Airport project in the future.
The decision to cease the negotiated contract by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the simultaneous demands from Busan City and some civic groups to exclude Hyundai Construction appear to have played a complex role. Such external pressures have had a significant impact on Hyundai Construction's position.
Hyundai Construction emphasized that it cannot accept conditions related to hasty reductions in the construction period to protect the core value of airport safety. This indicates that the company is committed to social responsibility and ethical management principles. This reaction can be interpreted as a strategy to construct an image that their withdrawal was not merely due to external pressures but a voluntary decision to uphold principles.
Ultimately, Hyundai Construction seeks to clarify its position amidst regional and political interests and show itself as a responsible corporation. This process is expected to have significant implications for their future business operations.
Main Reasons for Withdrawal: Demands for Shortened Construction Period and Safety Concerns
The most important reason for Hyundai Construction's decision to withdraw from the Gadeokdo New Airport site development is the technical judgment that it cannot guarantee safety and quality within the construction period demanded by the government. This project includes large-scale excavation works about three times the size of Namsan in Seoul and massive offshore reclamation equivalent to 2.3 times the area of Yeouido, which Hyundai Construction has consistently emphasized as an extremely complex and challenging super-large construction.
The company stated that to overcome these difficulties, it invested about 60 billion won and conducted in-depth reviews with over 250 domestic and foreign experts, ultimately proposing a minimum reasonable construction period of 108 months that could guarantee safety and quality. Given this situation, Hyundai Construction had to make a practical decision and could not help but abandon the project.
Hyundai Construction pointed out that a settlement operation called consolidation, required for stabilizing the offshore weak ground, would take at least 17 months. Additionally, they stated that an additional 7 months would be needed to change the construction order efficiently and safely, leading to a total of 24 months of unavoidable construction period extension, which they communicated to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The company prioritizes the safety of the nation as the foremost value in its business management, emphasizing that this principle cannot be compromised under any circumstances. They judged that hasty reductions in construction periods increase the risk of substandard construction, which would pose a serious threat to the long-term safety of the airport. This stance serves as a strong basis that goes beyond mere technical logic.
Hyundai Construction's assertion results from a serious consideration of safety and quality, which is expected to significantly influence the future direction of the construction.
The government and local communities were under tremendous pressure to achieve the political and economic goal of 'early opening.' In this process, the unique dilemma faced by public projects—namely the conflict between technical feasibility and political demands—became clearly visible. Hyundai Construction's withdrawal illustrates that such conflicts can lead to serious consequences, hinting at structural issues that may be repeated in similar projects in the future. Ultimately, these situations could serve as significant lessons for future policy decisions and implementations.
Hyundai Construction's Position: Abandonment of Basic Design Documents Rights, Etc.
While Hyundai Construction recently decided to withdraw from the project, it was reported that the company had invested about 60 billion won in the site development of Gadeokdo New Airport to ensure the successful promotion of the public project. The company plans to unconditionally relinquish all rights related to the basic design and provide necessary materials to the future selected successor contractor. This measure is interpreted as support to effectively reduce the time and costs necessary for the successor contractor to execute new designs. At the same time, they seem to have an intention to alleviate potential negative public sentiment that could arise from their project withdrawal.
Additionally, Hyundai Construction made it clear that this decision to withdraw was based solely on its own judgment. If other member companies like Daewoo Construction and POSCO E&C, which are still participating in the project, wish to continue, Hyundai Construction stated that it would abandon all rights related to consortium operation to contribute to the continuity of the project and minimize delays. However, the exit of the lead contractor with a 25.5% stake means losing the center of the consortium, and it is expected that the remaining companies will face significant challenges in independently managing the project or establishing new leadership. This can be seen as an illustration of the structural vulnerabilities when large projects are operated on a consortium basis.
Such movements by Hyundai Construction are expected to have a significant impact on future project progress, and stakeholders should carefully observe these changes.
Conclusion, Summary
The main reason for Hyundai Construction's abandonment of participation in the Gadeokdo New Airport site development was the unreasonable demand for a shortened construction period that did not consider technical feasibility. The 24-month gap between the 84-month construction period proposed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the 108-month timeframe claimed by Hyundai Construction for ensuring safety and quality has led the country's top construction company to withdraw from the project.
As a result, the goal of opening in December 2029 has become virtually impossible, and difficulties in selecting a successor contractor, potential increases in project costs, and various other challenges are anticipated. Such conditions are expected to have a significant impact on the future progress of the project.
The current situation highlights the problems that can arise when political goals take precedence over technical rationality in the promotion of public projects. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport needs to actively reflect the opinions of contractors in light of this incident.
Particularly difficult projects like Gadeokdo New Airport require high-level technological capabilities, such as offshore reclamation and improvement of weak soil, so greater care is needed. It is essential to calculate construction periods with stability and quality as top priorities. Strengthening the feasibility verification procedures based on objective data and expert opinions from the planning stage of the project is crucial.
Moreover, institutional measures should be devised to establish smooth communication channels between the contracting authority and the contractor and systematically manage potential risks. Such actions will not only normalize the Gadeokdo New Airport project but also serve as important lessons for the successful promotion of large-scale public SOC projects in the future.
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