The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives is resuming the mixed-use development project for the site of the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, which has drifted for a long time. It plans to accelerate normalization of the project by holding a call for private-sector participants in the first half. The industry expects the federation to hold the call after the local elections and then proceed with follow-up steps.
According to the financial sector on the 26th, the federation recently formed an advisory committee and is preparing bidding guidelines to select a private operator to participate in developing the idle land at the Noryangjin Fish Market. After the June 3 local elections, it is expected to hold the call, select a preferred negotiating partner, then move to sign a project agreement and establish a special-purpose company (SPC) to oversee the development.
The Noryangjin Fish Market development is a project to turn about 48,226 square meters (about 14,588 pyeong) of idle land—left over from the modernization of the old Noryangjin Fish Market carried out from 2007 to 2021—into a mixed-use complex. It is currently used as community sports facilities, including a soccer field, a baseball field, and a parking lot. The federation is pursuing a plan to transfer its headquarters to the site and create a "fisheries cluster" to house fisheries-related organizations, startups, and research centers.
The site is considered a prime riverside location along the Han River adjacent to Yeouido and Yongsan. In addition to excellent access to Noryangjin Station and Olympic-daero, it is cited as likely to benefit from future Yongsan development and Han Riverfront improvement projects. The industry believes the site has significant potential if a large-scale mixed-use development combining commercial, office, and cultural facilities proceeds.
The federation accelerated the project by pushing a call for private operators in 2022, but the project became difficult to advance as profitability deteriorated due to surging construction costs and interest rate hikes. Although the district unit plan was finalized in Nov. 2023, the project was effectively put on hold as formulation of the detailed development plan was delayed.
However, there are many hurdles to clear before actual implementation. After the call for private operators, the process will require selecting a preferred negotiating partner, signing a project agreement, and establishing an SPC, as well as consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government. According to the statement of work released when the federation commissioned legal advisory services in Feb., it plans to sign the project agreement and establish the SPC in the first half of next year. Once related procedures are completed, it is expected to finalize the detailed development plan and begin consultations with the city of Seoul.
Even if the timeline proceeds smoothly, the industry expects it will take considerable time to reach groundbreaking. A construction industry official said, "The Noryangjin site has strong locational competitiveness, so major builders and developers are expected to show interest," but noted, "Procedures such as consultations with the Seoul Metropolitan Government could take a long time, so it appears it will be a long road to groundbreaking."