Controversy Over the Construction of BEXCO's Third Exhibition Hall
The future directionality of site selection and a second BEXCO in west Busan
Cub-reporter Seo Yea-weon
seoyeaweon@naver.com
BEXCO currently operates two exhibition halls, the first exhibition hall and the second exhibition hall, and is an exhibition convention facility where various exhibitions, festivals, and concerts are held. In addition, a convention hall and an auditorium are in operated.
BEXCO is not currently running at maximum capacity in terms of holding exhibition events, but it is speeding up the construction of a third exhibition hall in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era, expecting that demand will increase explosively once all COVID-19 restrictions have been removed. Therefore, the construction of BEXCO's third exhibition hall, which will be the future growth infrastructure for Busan MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Convention, Exhibition) Industries, is a concept which has been promoted in earnest since 2021. According to the Busan Metropolitan Government, BEXCO's third exhibition hall construction project will begin in 2024, and the project will be completed in 2026.
At present there are two possible locations being considered for the construction of the third exhibition hall, namely the Olympic Park, next to the second exhibition hall, and the outdoor parking lot of the first exhibition hall. In 2019, BEXCO's basic plan-making service concluded that Olympic Park was a suitable site for the third exhibition hall, but the Ministry of the Interior and Safety raised the issue that an alternative car parking area must be prepared if the site is built on the Olympic Park because there is a reservoir that stores rainwater under the Olympic Park. After consideration, the outdoor parking area emerged as an alternative site. However, outdoor parking lots also have the disadvantage of creating parking problems and noise generation. As a result, the BEXCO announced that one of the two sites will be finally selected as the official site of the third exhibition hall this year after an expert review.
The controversy surrounding the construction of BEXCO's third exhibition hall is that when Busan decided to build BEXCO's third exhibition hall in Haeundae, it was get criticized for turning a blind eye to balanced regional development and so organizers suddenly declared that we will build a 'second BEXCO' in the west of Busan by 2031 at the latest. However, some analysts have argued that if the third exhibition hall of BEXCO is built-in Haeundae, the driving force for the second BEXCO will inevitably decrease significantly. The Busan Metropolitan Government announced that it will carry out the project with the aim of completing it by 2031.
In addition to this controversy, the increased attention of citizens is expected to be needed on BEXCO-related issues, which can be seen as depending on many economic and cultural projects in Busan.