Seoul expects a wave of large-scale construction starts through the end of the year, concentrated in its redevelopment promotion districts. Most of the roughly 16,000 homes the city aims to start building within the year are in those districts, meaning that groundbreakings at major sites such as Hannam and Noryangjin will bring the new towns closer to reality.
The city said on the 13th that it has started construction on about 15,000 of the 30,000 homes targeted for redevelopment groundbreakings this year, with another 16,117 homes set to follow before year-end. Of those, 12,182 homes, or 75.6%, are in redevelopment promotion districts. Seven of the 11 districts scheduled to break ground within the year fall into that category.
Redevelopment promotion districts are planned on a wider area basis, upgrading roads, parks and other infrastructure alongside housing. The approach was introduced to improve living conditions and expand housing supply while promoting balanced development across the city.
The largest site scheduled to break ground in the second half is Hannam District 3 in Yongsan, with a total of 5,970 units and construction expected to begin in November. It is the first project to break ground within the Hannam redevelopment promotion district and is expected to mark the real starting point for the Hannam new town, which will eventually house more than 13,000 units.
More groundbreakings are lined up in the Noryangjin new town in Dongjak. Districts 4, 5 and 7 are due to start construction by the end of the year. District 2 (Dpine Artia) and District 6 (Raclache Xi Dpine) have already begun, and once the three additional districts start work, five of the eight districts in the area will be under construction. That is expected to accelerate both the upgrade of living conditions and large-scale housing supply around Noryangjin.
Demolition work is also in its final stages at some sites. As of the end of September, Sinwolgok District 1 (2,200 units), Susaek District 8 (620 units) and Noryangjin District 4 (835 units) had completed demolition. Hannam District 3 was 99% through demolition and is close to breaking ground. Several sites in redevelopment promotion districts have already started construction this year, including Heukseok District 11 (1,515 units), Sillim District 2 (1,430 units), Singil District 10 (812 units) and Donuimun District 2 (228 units).
To meet its target, the city plans to reduce causes of delay and strengthen cooperation among the parties involved. On the same day, with Mayor Oh Se-hoon presiding, the city signed a joint cooperation agreement on meeting housing supply targets with the associations behind the 11 projects due to break ground this year, five construction companies and eight district offices.
Under the agreement, the associations will speed up projects through faster decision-making, while the builders will cooperate on sharing construction cost information, reasonable cost reductions and safety and quality management. The city and the district offices plan to remove causes of delay through permit processing, conflict mediation and administrative fast-track support.
Starting with the 30,000 homes targeted this year, the city plans to continue on-site inspections and administrative support in 2027 and 2028, aiming to break ground on 310,000 homes through redevelopment projects by 2031.