Free Trade Zone Opens at
Incheon Int'l Airport

IIAC plans to embark on the second expansion project

The Incheon International Airport Corporation Free Trade Zone (IIACFTZ) has been opened to cargo traffic, bringing a step closer to the goal of turning the airport into a logistics hub of Northeast Asia.
IIACFTZ comprises of the Cargo Terminal Area covering 330,000 pyeong and Airport Logispark (ALP) covering 630,000, with a combined area of 630,000 pyeong, an equivalent to 72 percent of the area of Yeouido, a formerly islet in downtown Seoul.
Customs and taxes as tariffs, transportation tax and liquor tax are exempted and refunded from the area. Foreign investors accommodated in IIACFTZ are given incentives like the exemption of national taxes, regional taxes and land usage fees.
Occupants of the Cargo Terminal Area include Korea Air, Asiana Airlines and other domestic and foreign airliners. Such logistics service providers as DHL and TNT are expected to move into the area.
Tenant companies of Airport Logispark include JWE Korea of Japan, Samsung Electronics Logitech and Pan Korea Express, which are building their own warehouses. Schenker Korea and two other Korean and foreign companies are scheduled to move into the area. AMB of the United States and Pro-Logis have submitted business plans, while Danzas and a few others are considering investments. Airport Logispark is expected to be fully occupied by tenant companies by the end of this next year.
During a ceremony for opening IIACFTZ held on March 30, President Roh Moo-hyun predicted that IIACFTZ would result in creation of 10,000 jobs and 700 billion won in value added.
President Roh said "Incheon will become one of Korea's representative cities and have enough conditions to grow into a logistics and business hub of Northeast Asia."He said, "We will see Incheon International Airport improve an edge as more cargoes end up here and an increasing number of Korean and foreign companies converging here could have synergetic effects, thus raising the added value of logistic services."Celebrating the fifth anniversary of its opening, Incheon International Airport will embark on the second expansion project calling for expanding the combined IIACFTZ area to 1,250,000 pyeong - 600,000-pyeong Airport Logispark and 650,000-pyeong Cargo Terminal Area. When completed, IIACFTZ will likely raise its capacity of handling cargo by 1 million ton that could result in an additional 730 billion won in value-added and employment of 10,000 people.
IIACFTZ needs to take countermeasures against Chinese airports'moves to expand logistics facilities and upgrade logistics systems as part of its efforts to realize the goal of growing Incheon International Airport into an airport hub of Northeast Asia.
Incheon International Airport Corporation plans to transform Incheon International Airport into an integrated logistics center by expanding IIACFTZ under the Northeast hub airport scheme and attracting cutting-edge industries and aviation industry to the airport's neighborhood areas.
IIAC have flights linking 133 cities in 41 countries. Last year, the airport handled 2.1 million tons of cargo and 26 million passengers, ranking third and 10th in the world in terms of cargo and passengers processed, respectively. nw

Dignitaries, including President Roh Moo-hyun, attend a ceremony for opening IIACFTZ held on March 30.