Table of Contents
- Oryukdo Line Tram Feasibility Reassessment Failure…Risk of Project Abandonment
- B/C 0.39, AHP 0.418…Both Economic and Policy Feasibility Underperformed
- Subcommittee Evaluation: “Minimal Traffic Improvement Effect…Concerns over Increased Congestion”
- Progress of the Project and Discussion of Alternatives
- Conclusion
Oryukdo Line Tram Feasibility Reassessment Failure…Risk of Project Abandonment
The construction project of the Oryukdo Tram in Nam-gu, Busan is at risk of effectively being halted after failing to pass the government's feasibility reassessment. This decision is expected to have a significant impact on the future progress of the project.
Ultimately, it is highly likely that an alternative plan will be sought by integrating it with the Busan Port Line.
B/C 0.39, AHP 0.418…Both Economic and Policy Feasibility Underperformed
The feasibility reassessment results for the Busan Urban Railroad Oryukdo Line, recently announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Metropolitan Transportation Committee, have caught attention. According to this report, the benefit-cost ratio (B/C) is reported to be 0.39, and the comprehensive policy feasibility assessment (AHP) is 0.418.
Typically, a B/C above 0.7 is considered necessary for the advancement of a project; however, the Oryukdo Line significantly falls short of this threshold, being deemed insufficient in both economic and policy aspects. While the project cost has skyrocketed from the originally planned 91.2 billion won to 105.7 billion won, the expected traffic system improvement effects have concluded to be minimal.
These results are expected to have significant implications for future transportation policies in the Busan area.
Subcommittee Evaluation: “Minimal Traffic Improvement Effect…Concerns over Increased Congestion”
The overall opinion of the subcommittee regarding the feasibility reassessment was predominantly negative. While this project has a research and development nature aimed at demonstrating the wire-free tram, many experts expressed that the actual traffic improvement effect would be minimal.
Concerns were raised that the road environment in the areas where the tram would be installed is poor, which could lead to increased road congestion after installation. Consequently, there were calls for separate measures to resolve these issues to be absolutely necessary.
Progress of the Project and Discussion of Alternatives
The Oryukdo Tram project began in 2019 when Busan City was selected in the Ministry of Land and Transportation's call for demonstration lines. This line includes a section of about 1.9 km from Daeyeon-dong Yongso Intersection to Yongho-dong Igidae Neighborhood Intersection, and there were plans to introduce environmentally friendly low-floor trams.
However, the construction cost skyrocketed from the initially estimated 47 billion won to 90.6 billion won, which led to it becoming the subject of preliminary feasibility reassessment by the Korea Development Institute (KDI). Ultimately, it was eliminated as a result of this investigation.
Consequently, Busan City and the Nam-gu Office are set to come up with alternatives. One of them is a proposal for a new urban railroad network plan that integrates the Wuam-Gamman Line and the Oryukdo Line. This has drawn significant attention as it allows for the possibility of re-promotion within Busan City's urban railroad network plan even if the Ministry of Land's demonstration line project fails.
Conclusion
The Oryukdo Tram project failed to meet the criteria in terms of economic and policy aspects and was excluded from the feasibility reassessment.
As a result, it has become virtually impossible to proceed with the existing Ministry of Land's demonstration project method, and Busan City has begun to review integrated urban railroad network lines instead.
The future direction of this project will be determined by the strategic response of the local government and the policy direction of the central government.
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