Busan's 2030 Expo bid focuses on environmental message

Economy

Published: 02 Apr. 2023, 06:00 Updated: 05 Apr. 2023, 11:49

Busan's 2030 Expo bid focuses on environmental message

Rendering of the redevelopment project for the North Port, a proposed venue for the World Expo 2030 [BUSAN METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

From the world’s first floating city project to hydrogen transportation infrastructure, Busan is looking to bolster its bid for the 2030 World Expo by showcasing a range of green initiatives.

Partially surrounded by the sea, climate change stands as a tangible threat for Busan, Korea's southern port city. It is vulnerable to rising sea levels and typhoons and other extreme weather events.

At the heart of the push is the North Port, a proposed site for the expo, which is set to become a proving ground for Korea’s efforts to tackle climate change.

By 2028, a prototype of a floating community will be built on the southeast coast near the North Port, being made of interconnected, modular platforms powered by renewable energy.

A mega container ship is at Busan New Port. Before the New Port was established in the early 2000s, the North Port served as the main port of Busan. [YONHAP]

Busan was selected in 2021 for the mega-scale project done with UN-Habitat as the international organization seeks to resolve the loss of urban residential area as a result of climate change and other environmental damage.

Developing the North Port into an expo site serves an environmental cause, since the port area has been largely idle, especially after the opening of New Port in 2006.

Urban regeneration

Ships are docked at the North Port in Dong District, Busan. [Yonhap]

Busan’s plan to use the North Port neighborhood as the expo venue is well aligned with the city's urban regeneration project in Dong District, where North Port is located.

“Expo exhibition centers are typically constructed through extensive infrastructure projects that result in environmental degradation,” said Cho You-jang, director general of the 2030 Busan World Expo Promotion Headquarters. “However, the Busan Expo exhibition center aims to restore the existing port in an environmentally-sustainable manner.”

“After the World Expo, the center will be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility for industries and businesses,” Cho added.

Given that the large portion of the district is occupied by the port and Busan Station, the neighborhood has fewer people than other districts with relatively old buildings.

The city plans to turn the area into a venue for the international exhibitions, and later build more apartment complexes, cultural facilities and corporate offices.

On the cards are an opera house for music events and a convention center for the maritime industry.

Construction of the primary infrastructure facilities for the first stage of the two-part redevelopment project is finished, including the marina facilities and a large waterfront park now opened to the public. Following the announcement of the World Expo 2030 host country in November this year, the second stage of development will begin.

Once the event is over, the exhibition center will be designated as an economic free zone, according to Busan, allowing for the reuse of major facilities.

The opening of North Port dates back to 1876 during the Joseon Dynasty, a milestone event for modernization of Korea. During the Korean War, Busan served as the provisional capital and a safe zone for millions of people fleeing from all over the country. Many put down their roots in the area, leading to economic growth that turned Busan Port into one of the largest trading hubs in the world.

The Busan Expo 2030 Committee is keen on emphasizing the importance of sustainability under its slogan “Transforming our world, navigating toward a better future.”

In the past, the expos held in the early days were predominantly focused on showing off new technologies and inventions, but in recent years, they have become a forum to find solutions to the challenges facing humanity and to present new visions.

The city of Busan says the environment-focused strategy is considered a competitive advantage and a unique selling point in its efforts.

“It is difficult to undertake the climate crisis as a topic at the expos, which are mainly hosted by developed countries, as there are challenges to obtain sympathy from underdeveloped or developing countries,” the head of Busan’s Expo bid promotion headquarters said.

“But Korea — which has grown from a recipient of economic assistance to a donor country — can understand the various solutions proposed by advanced countries as well as the climate changes experienced by underdeveloped countries,” he continued.

Urban regeneration is not unique to the North Port area.

Migratory birds fly from Eulsukdo, a sandy island and a rare bird sanctuary near an urban area. The location is where the Nakdong River and the South Sea meet. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

Eulsukdo, a sandy island that serves as a habitat for migratory birds, is a testament to Busan’s efforts to foster harmony between nature and urbanization.

The sanctuary island once boasted the largest number of migratory birds in the country, but environment was severely damaged, especially in the 1990s, and birds began to avoid the area.

The city embarked on a project to turn the contaminated land into an ecological park. The park opened in 2012, and migratory birds are returning.

World's first floating city

The North Port is scheduled to welcome the world’s first floating city — Oceanix Busan — in 2028 ahead of the hoped-for expo.

It is envisaged as flood-proof infrastructure that rises with the sea and produces its own food, energy and fresh water with fully integrated, zero-waste, closed-loop systems, according to a UN Habitat website.

The project is an effort by UN-Habitat, the Busan metropolitan government, and a New York City-based floating city developer firm Oceanix.

“Busan’s proposed theme for the World Expo also centers around climate change, and that is exactly the goal of what we're doing,” Oceanix co-Founder and CEO Itai Madamombe said in an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

“We hope that this serves as an example to all the world of what Busan is capable of doing.”

The project gained a lot of worldwide attention because it could become a possible solution for billions of people displaced by climate change.

A total of 2.4 billion people — roughly 30 percent of the world's population — living in coastal zones will be affected by coastal erosion and flooding, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report published in September 2021.

A study published by Greenpeace Korea shows that over 5 percent of the land in Korea will be submerged by 2030 due to rising sea levels. In a flood simulation of the Korean Peninsula in 2030, it was observed that the surroundings of the yacht racing stadium in Busan gradually became submerged, and subsequently, water will begin to inundate Bexco and Centum City along the Suyeong River.

“Floating cities have been touted as a potential solution for coastal cities like Busan, which are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and increasing extreme weather events,” said Park Je-sung, head of the Floating City Task Force under the Busan Metropolitan Government.

Oceanix Busan will have six integrated systems: zero waste and circular systems, closed loop water systems, food, net zero energy innovative mobility and coastal habitat regeneration. These systems will generate 100 percent of the required operational energy on site through floating and rooftop photovoltaic panels.

The one to be built in Busan is a prototype with an area of 18,000 square meters — approximately a size of three football fields. It is expected to accommodate up to 300 residents.

With several dozens of interconnected platforms, a floating city may eventually hold 10,000 people.

The Maldives began constructing a sea-floating city called MFC (Maldives Floating City). A similar project called Oxagon, an advanced industrial complex to be built on the Red Sea, is also being developed in Saudi Arabia — Korea’s strongest competitor for the World Expo 2030 — in its NEOM project.

“I believe Busan’s floating city would be more appealing in a way that it is a project for mankind in partnership with the UN-Habitat that contributes to sustainable and public purposes, rather than for industrial development,” the team head of Busan’s floating city TF explained.

According to Madamombe, the goal is to create a self-sustaining city where everything is available within the city itself, including clean and renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydro energy.

Hydrogen economy

One of the key pillars in Busan’s vision for the 2030 World Expo is carbon neutrality, as the city hopes to set itself apart from its rivals with a proactive climate response agenda.

And hydrogen is at the center of its green energy transformation initiative.

Busan hopes to deploy self-driving hydrogen fuel cell-powered buses during the World Expo. Korea ran fuel cell buses during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018 as well.

A hydrogen-powered tram will be a main mode of transportation at the Expo site, according to the bidding committee.

A hydrogen water taxi will carry passengers on the sea. The Hydrogenia, the hydrogen fuel cell boat, was developed by Vinssen, a local start-up. It was first introduced at the Busan International Boat Show in 2021.

In September last year, Busan city government signed a business agreement with SK E&S, Hyundai Motor, the Ministry of Environment, Busan Port Authority, Busan Technopark and Busan Metrobus Company Association, to boost hydrogen economy in the region.

The companies and government organizations plan to replace some 1,000 diesel or natural gas-powered buses in the city with Hyundai’s fuel-cell electric buses by 2025.

Ten more hydrogen fuel stations will be built in the city, from the current three.

Busan also aims to support 10 hydrogen companies in the region through funding for research and training.

SK E&S will invest 110 billion won in the Busan project to establish hydrogen economy in the region by 2030.

BY SEO JI-EUN, PARK EUN-JEE, SHIN HA-NEE [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]