By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
SONGDO, Incheon ― In this endlessly sprawling reclaimed land, Incheon is building its way into becoming one of the world's top 10 must-visit cities.
Mayor Ahn Sang-soo is orchestrating the port city's bold dream of making the city a truly global business center that will house hundreds of international enterprises, universities and hospitals by around 2014 in a bold challenge to global cities such as Dubai and Shanghai.
``The current global economic crisis won't deter our projects,'' Ahn said in an exclusive interview with The Korea Times. ``With global investors becoming pickier and looking for safer investment destinations, Incheon is emerging as an ideal place for them.''
He pins high hopes on the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), now under construction on western coastal and reclaimed land three times larger than Manhattan.
``By 2014, IFEZ will become home to more than 300 Northeast Asian headquarters of foreign companies, 30 international organizations including UN bodies, and extended campuses of 15 foreign universities,'' Ahn said. ``In harmony with cultural attractions and a clean environment, IFEZ is expected to annually draw 20 million foreign tourists, making it one of the world's top 10 cities by 2020.''
Ahn said Cisco Systems ― the world's largest networking equipment maker ― plans to invest about $1 billion to build ``U-City Global Center'' in Songdo for its global operations. The U-City project is a new business sector for Cisco. The U.S.-based company has agreed with the city to jointly develop IFEZ.
``Cisco has yet to fix the exact investment amount. But as seen by its commitment, our plan to attract foreign investment is on the right track,'' Ahn said.
He said IFEZ, comprised of Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongna reclaimed land, will outgrow other global rivals as it has been more systematically designed and planned to meet all kinds of needs.
``We are still in the initial phase of our long-term projects to build a `dream city.' But I'm confident that Incheon will emerge as one of the 10 global must-visit cities,'' Ahn said.
Defining the zone as a ``compact city,'' he said, ``No matter what you want, it will be within 30 minutes of you, including offices, houses, hospitals and schools, as well as leisure facilities.''
As an event to promote the city, Incheon will hold the Global Fair and Festival Incheon in August for 80 days.
``The event will offer a glimpse into the future of cities for urban development, environment, energy, technology, culture and tourism through a variety of exhibitions, conferences and festivals,'' the mayor said. It's estimated to generate 530 billion won in added value and create more than 10,000 new jobs.
He said global universities, including North Carolina State University and Stony Brook University, plan to open extended campuses as early as September next year.
Korean universities are also rushing to construct new campuses. ``Dozens of Korean universities including Seoul National University, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Yonsei and Korea universities, and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies will run campuses here,'' he said.