remember the land reclamation process, which
effectively involved the transformation of the ocean into a desert.
Construction work on the massive project finally began in November 1992, under the umbrella of the Maritime and Port Administration, spearheaded by Kang. When the government formed Incheon Airport Authority in 1994 to take over responsibility for the construction project – the forerunner of today’s Incheon International Airport Corporation – Kang was once again placed in charge.
The new airport authority, led by chairman Kang, had
205 staff that included a number of former staff from Gimpo International Airport, Seoul’s only existing gateway at the time, who were brought in for their expertise and operational knowledge. “We faced a huge construction challenge as the airport site had to be built on reclaimed land between Yeongjong and Yongyu islands, the latter of which was 132 metres above sea level. “We started by building a dam to block the ocean and connect the two islands. It ran from the southern end of Yeongjong Island in the west to the southern part of Yongyu Island in the east and was quite something.” At the height of the construction of the main passenger terminal, up to 13,000 workers were on site daily, many of whom were accommodated in nearby camps due to Yeongjong Island’s remote location.
” I mostly
HISTORY
Kang also remembers the “unfavourable reaction” from politicians, sections of the media and environmental groups when the Incheon location site was announced. “I vividly remember the negative reaction to the announcement and it wasn’t all from pressure groups or the media,” recalls Kang. “Some engineers were opposed because they feared that building on reclaimed land would lead to subsidence.
“Other objections ranged from claims that the proposed airport location was too close to the demilitarised zone (DMZ) with North Korea, was too foggy, and had become a wildlife sanctuary that attracted migratory birds. “Those that accused it of being too close to the DMZ seemed to forget that Incheon is not that far away from Gimpo International Airport which has never had any flight restriction problems due to its location.”
He says that scientific data was quickly used to disprove the
fog theory, but notes that Incheon’s runways are equipped with CAT IIIb instrument landing system (ILS) technology that virtually ensures their all-weather status.
So what does he remember most about the airport’s construction project?
“I mostly remember the land reclamation process, which
effectively involved the transformation of the ocean into a desert. We did this by creating a dam, which allowed us to
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