SEOUL: The Telangana govt, which is proposing to develop a fourth city called Future City in the southern part of Hyderabad, will take a cue from the Incheon Free Economic Zone (IFEZ), which is divided into three regions.
Launched in 2003, the IFEZ was designed to decongest Seoul and help increase economic activity and job creation through the establishment of industries and other facilities.
The Telangana govt plans to develop the Future City on about 10,800 acres and is studying various aspects of the future city in the South Korean capital.
The Telangana delegation including ministers Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Ponnam Prabhakar, chief advisor to the govt Vem Narender Reddy, MP Chamala Kiran Kumar Reddy and principal secretary of MAUD Dana Kishore interacted with IFEZ chief executive officer NA KI UN on Wednesday.
Korean officials said the IFEZ was set up to make Incheon a business hub in North East Asia.
The Korean future city has been divided into Songdo, Yeongjong and Cheongna. While Songdo will focus on IT, bio-technology, knowledge and service industries, Cheongna will become a hub for business, finance, tourism, leisure and high-tech industries, and Yeongjong will focus on logistics and tourism.
“The expected population and workforce in the three cities will be around 5,43,653 and the project cost will be around 5 lakh Korean Won. Though most of the infrastructure is ready, it will be completed in all aspects by 2030,” revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy told TOI while explaining about what the team studied about planning of cities.
The Korean future city is within three hours of cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Incheon International Airport and Incheon New Port & International Ferry Terminal, IFEZ CEO told the delegation.
The Korean govt offers tax incentives to attract foreign investment, including exemptions from customs duties, acquisition tax and property tax for eligible companies, particularly in the manufacturing, tourism, logistics and R&D sectors. It also offers subsidies for land purchase, construction of facilities and relocation, as well as tax incentives for both national and local taxes.
“These cities will be completely green and environmentally friendly. A control room called the common facilities centre has been set up to monitor the city’s police, fire and disaster management issues, said MAUD principal secretary Dana Kishore.
