South Korean Government Announces Plans To Build 2nd Airport On Jeju Island For Recent Influx Of Tourists

More and more tourists are visiting the island of Jeju off South Korea's southern coast. To better deal with the flock of visitors, the South Korean government has announced its plan to build a second airport in the island.

Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday that the pronouncement came after an increasing demand for cheap carrier flights was reported, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Reports have revealed that the existing Jeju International Airport will not be able to accommodate the flights expected to increase in the future. The airport is located on the northern shores, while the new airport will be built in the southern part of Jeju Island.

Further reports have revealed that Jeju International Airport has served about 11.35 million people in 2005. The figures have increased to 15.72 million in 2010 and skyrocketed to 23.2 million in 2014.

The nation's ministry has forecasted that the figures are expected to reach 28.3 million by 2018 and 32.11 million a couple of years after.

China Daily noted Tuesday that the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has assessed three options before coming up with the decision to build a second airport in Jeju Island.

The first option is to close the current airport and build a new one with two runways. The second is to expand the airport and the third is to build another with one runway while preserving the current Jeju International Airport.

The ministry has reportedly chosen the third option since an extension would cost around 9.4 trillion won, while new construction will only cost 7 trillion won.

"Taking into account the cost, impact on the environment and public opinion, the third option was accepted after extensive reviews," the ministry reveals. "Expanding the existing airport would cost 9.4 trillion won and pose environment challenges due to the need to reclaim land from the sea, while closing it down entirely is opposed by residents of Jeju City."

Aside from that, the ministry has also announced that the site for the new airport in Jeju Island is in good weather conditions, helpful in costs and would cause less harm to the environment.

"Overall, compared to other candidate sites, Shinsan-ri offers many advantages," the ministry says.