S. Korea seeks to build new Busan airport as country's first 'floating airport'

South Korea plans to build the country's first floating airport in the southern port city of Busan by 2035, the land ministry said Tuesday.

Last year, the National Assembly approved a bill on a mega state project worth some 13.7 trillion won ($10.97 billion) to build the new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country's southeast region.

According to the detailed plan announced by the land ministry on Tuesday, the new facility will be an offshore airport, which is to be built on a floating structure at sea.

The government is pushing to skip a preliminary feasibility study to expedite the construction procedures, and a review committee under the finance ministry will make a final decision on the exemption later this week.

The land ministry plans to begin drawing a detailed construction plan within this year following an environment survey. If the process goes without a hitch, the construction is expected to kick off in 2025, and the new airport will be put into operation in June 2035.

A study shows that the envisioned airport would handle some 23.36 million passengers and 286,000 tons of cargo in 2065, the ministry said.

But long-drawn controversies surrounding the project could continue, as lawmakers in the region have claimed that the central government's plan requires more budget and time.

Critics say the new facility is not economically feasible and would negatively affect the environment in the region.

The debate on the issue dates back nearly 10 years.

The liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008) first proposed the construction project to disperse the growing air traffic to and from Gimhae International Airport in Busan, the only international airport in the region, deemed almost saturated.

The conservative Park Geun-hye government pushed for a project that would expand the existing Gimhae airport in Busan, but a state committee under the current Moon Jae-in administration virtually aborted it after reviewing its feasibility.

Then ruling party lawmakers proposed constructing a new airport on Gadeok and have pushed to expedite the project. (Yonhap)