On Wednesday, the South Korean government pledged to relax regulations and decrease administrative processes to facilitate the quick and smooth implementation of major corporate investment projects, such as S-Oil Co.’s petrochemical plant project and the U.S. Sphere Entertainment Co.’s K-pop arena construction plan.
The Ministry of Finance reported that the government has presented a tailored deregulatory plan for a total of 18 corporate-led projects with a combined worth of 46 trillion won (US$35.06 billion) to address business issues and improve investment conditions in the face of high interest rates and other uncertainties.
According to the plan, the government will consider revising a law to support S-Oil in securing a site for a storage yard and a parking lot needed for its ongoing construction of a large-scale petrochemical plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan under the 9.3 trillion-won Shaheen project. This is because the refiner is facing difficulties in using nearby sites due to an act on industrial cluster development, the ministry said.
This AFP photo shows the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 29, 2023. (Yonhap)
The project by Sphere to build a K-pop arena in the city of Hanam, just south of Seoul, is also expected to gain from the government’s deregulation decision. The U.S. company aims to start construction on the iconic venue before 2025, but it normally takes more than 42 months to conduct a feasibility study to review the potential lifting of development restrictions and to complete other administrative procedures.
“The government will expedite licensing and other administrative procedures to reduce the period to 21 months in order to help them carry out the project as planned,” a ministry official said.
The government also vowed to create special rules on the management of hazardous materials to shorten the period of constructing battery production factories and cut costs, as LG Energy Solution Ltd., SK On Co. and other companies plan to invest around 1.9 trillion won combined over the next couple of years in the establishment of new facilities in the central province of Chungcheong.
Other projects on the government’s list for support through deregulation include the envisioned establishment of a branch of a world-class art center in the southeastern city of Busan and the plan to build a new airport in the country’s southeastern region, the ministry said.
(From L to R) Mohammed Y. Al Qahtani, executive vice president of Aramco; Ulsan Mayor Kim Doo-kyum; Hussain A. Al Qahtani, CEO of S-Oil Corp.; President Yoon Suk Yeol; Amin Nasser, president and CEO of Aramco; and other officials together throw the first shovel of dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Shaheen Project in Ulsan, 307 kilometers southeast of Seoul, on March 9, 2023, in this file photo provided by S-Oil. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
The South Korean government has promised to reduce regulations and administrative processes to promote the fast and efficient implementation of 46 trillion won worth of corporate investment projects. These include S-Oil Co.’s petrochemical plant project and the U.S. Sphere Entertainment Co.’s K-pop arena construction plan.
The government has presented a tailored deregulatory plan to address business challenges and improve investment conditions in the midst of high interest rates and other uncertainties. This plan includes a law revision to help S-Oil gain access to a site for a storage yard and a parking lot needed for its ongoing construction of a large-scale petrochemical plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan under the 9.3 trillion-won Shaheen project.
The government also promised to cut the period of building battery production factories and expedite licensing and other administrative procedures to help Sphere break ground on the K-pop arena before 2025. It will also consider setting up a branch of a world-class art center in the southeastern city of Busan and the plan to build a new airport in the country’s southeastern region.
graceoh@yna.co.kr
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