[비즈니스포스트] After many twists and turns, the government held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit (GTX)-C line and promised a timely opening in 2028.
It appears to be an attempt to allay concerns regarding the progress of the GTX-C route project, but construction did not actually begin on this day. There is a strong possibility that the opening of the GTX-C route will be delayed until 2030. The opening of GTX-A, which the government promised to occur two months later, also appears to be unknown.
▲ President Yoon Seok-yeol (center), Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo (far left), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon (second left), and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon (far right) participated in the GTX-C groundbreaking ceremony held at the multipurpose gymnasium at Uijeongbu City Hall in Gyeonggi-do on the 25th. <대통령실>
On the 25th, the government held a ceremony commemorating the groundbreaking of the GTX-C route at the multi-purpose gymnasium of Uijeongbu City Hall in Gyeonggi-do, under the slogan, ‘GTX has come a long way, a leisurely life.’
The GTX-C route starts from Deokjeong Station in Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, passes through Cheongnyangni and Samsung Station, and connects 86.46km to Suwon Station in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. All 14 stops are transfer stations where you can transfer to a regular subway.
A total project cost of 4.6084 trillion won will be invested over the next five years. It was first reflected in the 2nd National Railway Network Plan in 2011, and after a preliminary feasibility study, the implementation plan was announced in December 2023.
However, the actual start of construction will not be held today but at a later date. The groundbreaking ceremony on this day was an ‘administrative groundbreaking’ in a declarative sense. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport initially pledged to break ground on the GTX-C route in 2023, but this was not kept.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo promised at the groundbreaking ceremony that day, “(GTX-C route) will open without disruption at the promised time,” but this is why weight is given to the observation that the goal of opening at the end of 2028 will not be easy.
First of all, the completion target for the Samsung Station Intermodal Transfer Center has been postponed once to April 2028, and it is expected to be delayed even further.
The complex transfer center will be built 63m wide and 53m deep (7 underground levels) underground in the 600m section between Samsung Station Intersection and COEX Intersection on Yeongdong-daero. It will be built as five rail transit transfer spaces and a public commercial space. The existing road will be made underground and a green plaza will be created on the ground.
This construction is being divided into four civil engineering and two construction tools. However, a construction company has not yet been selected for Section 2.
In relation to this, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have held four failed bids related to Zone 2, but they are taking the position that the tunnel and platform for the GTX-A·C lines will be constructed first on the lowest floor of Yeongdong-daero, making it possible to open in 2028.
In addition, it is inevitable that the GTX-C route construction company will be liquidated. In the aftermath of Taeyoung Construction’s workout application, a sense of change is also felt in the composition of the Hyundai Engineering & Construction consortium (Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Hanwha Construction Division, Taeyoung Engineering & Construction, Dongbu Construction, Ssangyong Construction, Hyundai Engineering, Hyosung Heavy Industries, etc.) in charge of the GTX-C route construction.
This is because Taeyoung Construction is considering transferring a 10% stake in the GTX-C route consortium. In relation to this, a Taeyoung Construction official said, “We are discussing the withdrawal of membership from the GTX-C project and the transfer of a 10% construction stake.”
Even if these problems are resolved quickly, the consensus is that if the construction period is prolonged, it will be difficult to open in 2028.
An official in the construction industry said, “Considering that the completion rate of the GTX-A route increases by about 20% every year, it is expected that the opening will not be possible until the second half of 2025.” He expressed concern, saying, “If the period is extended, various side effects may occur.”
Industry insiders say that it is not easy to keep the promise at the groundbreaking ceremony to open the Suseo-Dongtan section of Line A in March of this year for the first time in the GTX project.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport previously announced that all major construction on the GTX-A Suseo-Dongtan Station route will be completed in December 2023 and a comprehensive test operation will be conducted. After a preliminary inspection in December and a facility verification test in January, a commercial operation will begin in February.
However, considering the construction progress and the time required for commissioning, some say that in fact, opening is possible only in June of this year. This is because the construction has not yet been completely completed and it will take about three months for the installation and test operation.
In addition, the government is also promoting the project with the goal of opening the private section of Line A between Paju Unjeong and Seoul Station by the end of this year, but the prevailing opinion in the construction industry is that it will be difficult to open within the year. Weight is being given to the forecast that opening will be possible in the second half of 2025.
▲ GTX entire route map. <대통령실 자료>
An official from another construction company said, “Typically, in railway construction, there are frequent cases where the original construction period is delayed by 1 to 2 years after the start of construction,” and “Even considering the fact that the government is making efforts to open the railway, it is difficult to maintain the construction period.” reported.
Some point out that there is a need to improve safety and completeness rather than focusing on the opening date.
Although the government is emphasizing that it will maintain its opening goal, doubts about the GTX project are not subsiding. This is because the project has gone through several twists and turns and there have been many cases where realistic conditions and promises were not kept.
For the GTX-C route, the Hyundai Engineering & Construction consortium was designated as the preferred negotiating party in June 2021, and the implementation agreement was scheduled to be signed in December of the same year, but the implementation agreement was not concluded until August 2023. There was also conflict over the undergrounding of the Eunma Apartment route and the Dobong section.
Although the implementation plan was approved on December 27 last year and the permit for actual construction has ended, it is understood that more preparations for actual construction are needed. In the end, the C line construction start plan was pushed back from 2023 to this year, and the goal of completing the Samsung Station complex transfer center shared by the A and C lines was also pushed back.
In the case of Route B, sections 1 to 4 of the financial section (Yongsan-Sangbong) were ordered in August 2022, and only section 4 was selected by the KCC consortium in March 2023. This financial section was converted from a private project to a financial project due to failure to secure business feasibility.
For the financial section of Route B, Daewoo Engineering & Construction in Zone 1, DL E&C in Zone 2, and Hyundai Engineering & Construction in Zone 3 each bid alone, and the bid was rejected four times.
If a bid is rejected three times, it can be converted to a negotiated contract, but since there is no precedent for a negotiated contract for a construction worth more than 1 trillion won, the ordering method was changed from a turnkey method to a comprehensive review and award system. This is to prevent failed bids, encourage competition, and prevent private contracts.
However, if this plan is not realized, there are concerns that even if the private section of Line B (Incheon National University entrance ~ Yongsan, Sangbong ~ Maseok) is promoted as normal, it may be half-opened.
The government decided to place orders for the remaining sections 1 to 3 of the B route financial section in April this year. The National Railroad Authority has set the target for starting construction of the financial section of Line B in June. Reporter Ryu Soo-jae
