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An aerial view of apartment complexes in central Seoul (Yonhap) |
The land ministry said Wednesday it has selected new sites for its housing development project aimed at increasing supplies in urban areas and curbing housing prices.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has selected a vast area spanning 1,271 square meters in Gwangmyeong and Siheung in Gyeonggi Province as the site for approximately 70,000 new homes.
The two satellite cities are located about 12 kilometers southeast of Yeouido, a major business district in eastern Seoul.
About 18,000 units will be built in Busan, about 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and 13,000 units are planned in Gwangju, about 330 kilometers south of the capital, the ministry said.
For the new site in the wider Seoul area, the ministry said it will establish an extensive train system accessible to the capital's center within 20 minutes and expand the highway infrastructure to reduce traffic congestion.
"The government will develop transportation, infrastructure and self-sufficient functions to absorb part of demand for housing and jobs in city centers," the ministry said in a statement.
Additional sites for 150,000 units will be unveiled in April after consultations with the provincial governments, the ministry said.
The new sites are part of the government's broader plan to increase the number of new homes by up to 836,000 nationwide in the next four years.
The supply plan includes 323,000 new units in Seoul, the hot spot of the real estate frenzy, and 293,000 in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province by 2025.
Together with housing plans announced last year, the number of new units in the greater Seoul area, home to nearly half of the nation's 52 million population, will rise to over 2 million, the largest supply plan under the Moon Jae-in administration.
The ministry has said the supply plan is aimed at providing affordable housing in big cities, which are convenient to live in thanks to their proximity to jobs, and quelling concerns among potential first-time buyers.
The shift toward increased supply comes as soaring housing prices have shown no signs of a letup despite the government's efforts to stabilize the real estate market. (Yonhap)
