▲ Paju City / Mayor Jonghwan Choi

Sharing the west border of Seoul, Paju City recently has seen a 32.4% increase in number of residents totaling 472,260 as of June 2021. The overall population growth in the nation was 2.29% in the same year. 9 out of 10 citizens of Paju said that they were satisfied living in the city according to a survey carried out for the last 3 years. Citizens gave 26.1% votes for easy accessibility to Seoul as the number one reason for their satisfaction with 83.8% in particular on convenient public transportation. The city has been working on GTX-A, extension of subway line No.3, stopover of express train at Yadang station, opening 3 new Red Bus lines, running 1,000 won ($0.84) taxi services and DRT(Demand Responsive Transport) and  introducing semipublic village bus system. DRT is an AI-driven public transportation running on your demand when you book with your starting and arriving points with which the city has been designated as the first testbed by Gyeonggi Province. 9 DRT is to be running from December 21, 2021.

[GTX-A and buses]

GTX-A opens in 2023. It takes citizens in Paju to Seoul station in 20 mins and carries them further to Yongin and Dongtan on the average speed of 100km/h. Meanwhile, express buses 3100, 3400 and M7254 have already started their running alongside 9 other bus lines. Extension of subway line no.3 is on its way while 9 public parking lots are open to public. Quality of services and hygiene in village buses also has been improved and the 1,000 taxi services in 46 villages is receiving 95% satisfaction rate.

 

[Medical Cluster and Techno Valley]

Paju is working on building a medical cluster on a 460,000 square meters big land. The city has succeeded inviting a university hospital for this and the cluster will embrace various related research and development centers driven by private investment. The cluster is expected to create new jobs and to boost regional economy. For this, the city has formed partnership with the National Cancer Center and Ajou University for running an innovative medical R&D center. The cluster is set to open in 2024 with a medical bio R&D center in 2027 and Ajou University Hospital in 2028. Meanwhile, Unjeong Techno Valley is opening in 2026 that will embrace logistics and broadcasting facilities. The city already has signed a preferential negotiation contract with GS E&C Consortium. Other cooperative contracts include Hyundai Engineering, Kyobo Securities, KB Securities and NH Investment & Securities.

 

[Mobile Covid-19 Test Vehicles]

Mobile Covid-19 testing vehicles were first introduced by the city. These 1 ton vehicles are equipped with a positive pressure sample booth for people in remote arears or busy workers in the city. Meanwhile, the city has given out 530,900 masks to citizens and is running free rehab centers for those in self-quarantine. Foreigners are also provided with temporary living institutions and daily necessities while the kiosk pre-test offers elderlies fast testing procedures without the need of long queue.

 

[Peace Economic Zone and Environment]

Sharing a border with North Korea, the city is running various peace-related projects and events such as discussions, signature collecting, turtle ships, observatories, DMZ peace paths and tourist attractions. Alongside, the city is pushing forward improvement on abandoned streams, paths and playgrounds as well as remodeling in and around Unjeong Lake Park with a total of 21.5 billion won ($18 million) budget. The affected streams are 5: Munsan, Gongneung, Galgok, Bunsu and Geumchon.

 

[Green New Deal]

The city has been working on solar energy, fuel cell and hydrogen power. 3 of 300kw power plants in Jeokseong-myeon are already in operation and yearly around 20 million won ($16,800) profit is to be used for farmer’s welfare in the city. The city is planning to turn LNG to electric energy and around 60,000 households have been benefited. Alongside, the city is proactively engaging in inviting hydrogen energy investors and companies to the city with a long term perspective.  

[Steady Flow of Income for Farmers]

In order to secure steady income of famers, the city is running a basic income and a direct payment which will be around 13.7 billion won ($11.5 million) within the year 2021. The monthly 50,000 won ($42) basic income, on the other hand, is paid to all farmers in the city. It is estimated that around 15,000 farmers will be benefited. Other farmer-friendly projects including building an agricultural distribution center, local specialty stores and agricultural activity programs.

 

“In a big map, Paju City is working on better transportation, better health services, better system for environment and farmhouses. For the last 3 years, I and my teams have worked together with one mind in achieving these of our goals and I will keep providing my utmost effort and services till the end of my term” says Mayor Jonghwan Choi. <PowerKorea>

 

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장선희 기자  light_hee01@naver.com