At a spectacular seaside venue, South Korea is spending tens of millions of dollars on its latest foray into world sport — a Formula One motor racing track billed as Asia’s best.
The country has hosted the Olympics, the Asian Games and a soccer World Cup, but Formula One will be a novelty despite a major domestic auto industry.
Officials, however, are confident the Korean Grand Prix will quickly make its mark after its expected debut next year.
During a recent tour of the site in Yeongam county, 320km south of Seoul, a giant crane lifted huge concrete blocks as work progressed on a 13,000-seat grandstand.
More seating to accommodate a total of 135,000 spectators will also be built along a 5.6km circuit being constructed on 172 hectares of reclaimed land alongside an artificial seaside lake.
After the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) designated South Korea in 2006 as a host country, contractors installed more than 800,000 drainpipes and shifted six million tonnes of earth to form the site.
Renowned German track designer Hermann Tilke is supervising the project launched by the Korea Auto Valley Operation (KAVO), a joint venture between private firm M-Bridge Holdings and the South Jeolla provincial government.
“Construction is half-completed. We will do our best to build a ‘speed mecca’ both in name and reality when the track opens in July next year,” said KAVO chief Chung Yung-cho.
The province is providing 176 billion won (US$146 million) to build the country’s first international racetrack plus up to 60 billion won for infrastructure.
Organizers say the main circuit will include Asia’s longest straight stretch of 1.2km which will allow speeds of up to 320kph.
Chung’s office announced this month it has secured agreements for bank loans totalling 198 billion won, enough to cover about 46 percent of the total cost and the national parliament approved a special law on Wednesday to help the province host the F1 championship as a national event for the next seven years.
“F1, considered one of the world’s three most popular sports, is a new thing in South Korea,” said KAVO general marketing manager Kim Jae-ho.
The track will help the country take another leap forward, he added.
“We are building the biggest sports arena in our country,” Kim said, predicting that Yeongam’s unique design features and scenic location would make it the best track in Asia.
KAVO will host the F1 race once a year for seven years under the FIA deal, with an option to extend for five years if arrangements are satisfactory.
Provincial governor Park Joon-young is more ambitious, envisaging an environmentally friendly leisure and commercial town around the track to lead regional development.
“I believe the track will become an icon representing South Korea,” he said.
South Korea has spent enormous sums in the past hosting prestigious but unprofitable international sporting events.
“However, our venture will be a role model as it is expected to yield a profit, probably from 2013,” Park said.
“Our F1 track will also boost South Korea’s image as the world’s fifth largest car-making country,” he said.
Park Sang-woon, secretary general of the Korea Automobile Racing Association (KARA), said it would train about 700 personnel for the F1 race and invite more than 100 experienced foreigners.
The country also needs to start looking for race drivers.
“Along with the track South Korea must train talented drivers and form an F1 team,” a KARA official said on condition of anonymity, calling for financial help from local firms. “Maintaining a viable F1 team requires a huge amount of money.”
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