Korea’s Songdo: Mega City/Mini Carbon Footprint
SONGDO International Business District is being built on 6.1 sq km of reclaimed land along the Yellow Sea in Incheon, South Korea. A $30-billion project, Songdo IBD is a joint venture between Gale International and Posco Engineering & Construction, a subsidiary of steel giant Posco.
The business district will include 4.18 sq km of office space, 2.8 sq km of residential space (the first phase of residential sold $1-billion worth of apartments in a single day), 0.9 sq km of retail, 0.46 sq km of hotel space and 0.93 sq km of public space. Cultural and recreational amenities include a world-class hospital, an international preparatory school, a Central Park, an art museum and a Jack Nicklaus golf club.
When completed, Songdo will be home to 65,000 people and 300,000 will work there. Songdo was recently selected as a pilot project and partner by the US Green Building Council which sets standards not just for green building but also for enhancing and protecting the overall health, natural environment and quality of life of a community.
Songdo is also being built as a ubiquitous city in which all major information systems (residential, medical, business, etc.) share data. Computers will be built into the houses, streets and office buildings; and the technology and facilities infrastructures are integrated.
Asia Inc finds out more about the project from Stanley C. Gale, Chairman and Managing Partner, Gale International.
Asia Inc: Tell us a bit about the Songdo IBD project. Is it a "build and they will come" concept?
Stanley Gale: As visionary as Songdo IBD is, it is not some "field of dreams" - it is a reality, a city open for business beginning in August 2009. Interest from investors, tenants and residents is high and cresting. A project the size and complexity of a Songdo IBD will always spur some nay saying. Anyone who views the images of our construction progress, reviews our joint venture and strategic partners, and examines our financing will share our confidence in the future of this city.
How has the project been coming along?
The progress is remarkable.
Since construction began in 2005, we have proceeded at an impressive rate. Currently we have $6 billion under development in Songdo IBD, representing 45 separate buildings in 17 project areas. And $4 billion in new construction expected to begin in the next 12-months alone. Some 10,000 construction workers are employed at the site, a number that is expected to double in the next 20 months. This will make our construction site the largest private development in the world.
We also have been forging strategic alliances that will ensure the highest quality of life in Songdo IBD. We have an extensive list of best-in-class multinational corporations acting as strategic partners for Songdo IBD including Morgan Stanley, Shinhan Bank, United Technologies Corporation, Jack Nicklaus Golf, Microsoft Corporation and Taubman Centers Inc., among others.
What implications will a slowdown of the global economy have on the $30b project?
We recently concluded a $2.7-billion syndicated financing agreement with arranger Shinhan Bank and 12 other participating banks that is thought to be the largest such real-estate financing in Korean history. Thus we are well positioned financially to continue to accelerate development of our commercial district, which will contain 50 million square feet of office space, led by the 1.2 million square feet Northeast Asia Trade Tower. NEATT will be the tallest building in South Korea when completed in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Will current economic realities negatively impact multinational's willingness to expand their presence in North-east Asia?
I can't think of a single corporation that can afford to think that way - such expansion is a necessity. The South Korean Ministry of Trade and Finance expects the GDP of North-east Asia, a region that includes northern China, eastern Russia, the Koreas, and Japan, to account for nearly a third of global GDP by 2020.
Songdo IBD is perfectly positioned, geographically and philosophically, to take advantage of that shift. By philosophically I mean that Songdo is a city that has been implemented according to a master plan that includes sustainability and a world's-best high-tech infrastructure as its two cornerstones.
Many Asian cities are going for makeovers. How stiff is the competition in attracting FDIs?
There are many factors that go into attracting FDI, including "Free Economic Zone" incentives, which is an area we try to influence but do not control. Thankfully, South Korea, under its new president, has an energized pro-business attitude and we are confident that as a result the ROK will be very competitive among FEZs.
You are correct that many Asian cities are undergoing makeovers, the reality of a makeover points to the incredible advantage Songdo IBD offers. Ours is a completely new city that has been conceived from the ground up as a strategic business hub, a livable city, and a green oasis among the environmental disasters of existing Asian metropolises.
Indeed, an influential French government report on economic growth (the January ‘08 Attali Report) cited Songdo IBD as a model of the kind of new "eco-city" needed to drive economic growth. The report recommended that France to create ten mini Songdo IBDs!
Is it easy to building a city with some many steel and glass structures to be environmentally-friendly at the same time?
Easy? No. Necessary? Yes.
Long-term sustainability and the minimization of the city's carbon footprint have been considered in every design and engineering decision by master-plan architect KPF and chief engineer Arup.
This is an issue we deal with every day, on every construction site within the 1,500-acre development. The city is using as a framework the evolving LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Neighborhood Development certification, for which Songdo IBD was recently selected as a pilot project and partner by the US Green Building Council.
LEED-ND sets standards not just for green building but also for enhancing and protecting the overall health, natural environment and quality of life of what will become a thriving community.
Songdo IBD is the first urban area in the world to aspire to LEED-ND certification for an entire city. And Songdo is one of only three LEED-ND projects in Asia, two much smaller projects are in China.
I cannot stress to you enough that green principles permeate the Songdo IBD DNA.