Incheon City will create a theme park that incorporates an aquarium to revitalize the metropolitan landfill horseback riding park (Incheon Dream Park Horse Riding Park).
On the 15th, Incheon City and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the city hall's reception room to revitalize the metropolitan landfill (horseback riding park). Attending the signing ceremony were Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, Hanwha Hotels & Resorts Future Vision Director Kim Dong-seon, Hanwha Next CEO Choi Seok-jin, and Hanwha Aqua Planet CEO Han Hun-seok.
The Incheon Dream Park Horse Riding Park, approximately the size of 24 soccer fields (7,140㎡), covers about 170,000㎡ (approximately 51,400 pyeong), featuring a main stadium (1 field), practice fields (3 fields), a waiting area (1 field), a tournament headquarters, and stables, totaling 20 buildings. Established as a venue for the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, it has struggled to find suitable usage since then, with the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill Corporation (SL) making multiple efforts to recruit operators for the horseback riding park.
Accordingly, the city and Hanwha Hotels & Resorts plan to create a theme park facility that incorporates an aquarium, the first of its kind in the country, aligning with the image of 'Marine City Incheon' while modernizing (remodeling) the Incheon Dream Park Horse Riding Park. The city aims to finalize related business plans by December after actively consulting with the Ministry of Environment, Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, the Seoul Metropolitan Landfill Management Corporation, and the residents' support council of the landfill area, with a goal of completing the project by 2027.
The city expects that attracting private investment to establish cultural, tourism, and leisure facilities, including a theme park at the Incheon Dream Park Horse Riding Park, will help shift negative perceptions of the metropolitan landfill. It also anticipates significant contributions to revitalizing the local economy and enhancing the quality of life for residents near the metropolitan landfill.
Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok noted, "This memorandum of understanding is significant not only for revitalizing the Incheon Dream Park Horse Riding Park but also for finding future utilization plans for the metropolitan landfill" and expressed hope that it would "activate the local economy and provide citizens with a pleasant leisure space."