Invest KOREA

A project to construct the Universal Studios Korea Resort (USKR) in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, is expected to resume. The project had been in danger of being cancelled since the annulment of a land supply contract. However, things are getting better because the project has been included in both the new government’s programs and the provincial government’s plan for this year. The only thing is how to supply land and adjust the land price.

The USKR project finance vehicle (USKR PFV) comprises nine companies, including Lotte Asset Development, POSCO E&C, and Korea Investment & Securities. The Gyeonggi Provincial Government has been supporting the project since 2007 through its own USKR team.

Gyeonggi Province anticipates the USKR project to generate 150,000 jobs and annually attract 1,500 tourists.

“Once USKR PFV and the Korea Water Resources Corporation (KOWACO) agree on a measure to address the land supply problem, the following process, such as reassessing the land value, posting a land supply notice, and concluding a land supply contract, will be implemented. If it proceeds without any problems, construction will begin at the end of next year and the project will be completed by 2018,” a provincial official said.

The USKR project is to build a global theme park, which imitates the U.S. Universal Studios, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, by 2018 with an investment of KRW 5.1 trillion.

Source: Yonhap News (Mar. 22, 2013)

** This article was translated from the Korean.