Songdo $30 billion International City Development Project

Overview:

• Songdo International Business District is a new smart city or "ubiquitous city" built from scratch on 600 hectares of reclaimed land along Incheon's waterfront, 65km southwest of Seoul in South Korea.
• In 2003, the Korean government instituted three free economic zones for the development of the Economic Centre of North East Asia, and Songdo has been active throughout, including the more recent construction of Incheon Bridge that connects Songdo and Yeongjongdo where Incheon International Airport is located.
• The project includes $3 billion structured project financing, a partnership agreement with MSREF for the whole project and various partnership agreements for individual projects with private investors—including Cisco, Taubman, Jack Nicklaus—and governmental authorities.
• The city has also established educational institutions such as Chadwick International; Yonsei University Global Campus; State University of New York, Korea; and Incheon Global Campus.
• The project is in its third stage of development which is expected to be completed by 2022.

Adam Majeed - Regional editor