bird strikes

South Korea: Gadeok Airport environmental, viability, safety and relocation concerns, and Airport City plans

Rose Bridger Special Economic Zones , , , , , , , ,

Construction of a major new airport on Gadeok Island, a government-driven project, is imminent despite concerns over economic viability, technical feasibility, safety, relocation of residents and environmental impacts. A proposed airport city complex would support airport operations and might be designated as a free economic zone.

Gadeok Airport City, Free Economic Zone graphic
Left: Airport City Free Economic Zone development plan. Graphic: Busan Metropolitan City, Seoul Economic Daily. Right: Satellite imagery of Gadeok (Gadeokdo) Island dated 16/01/2026, showing areas impacted by Gadeok Airport and Airport City.

Gadeok Airport City plans

On 26th August 2026 the Busan City government released a draft designation plan and environmental impact assessment for Gadeok Airport City free economic zone, aligned with the master plan for Gadeok Airport. A graphic showed the new airport site on the south of Gadeok Island, with the runway extending eastwards into the sea, and the main Airport City sites to the north and on the west coast of the island. The city said public briefings on the Airport City would be held between the 7th and 23rd September and that, following deliberation and a decision by the Free Economic Zone Committee it aimed to finalise the development plan in 2027. If the Airport City is designated as a free economic zone, tax incentives and deregulation to attract international aviation and logistics firms are expected and there are plans for immediate commencement of compensation for land acquisition and construction. A comprehensive plan for the Gadeok airport city complex announced in August 2024 specified approximately 998 hectares of development on three areas: logistics facilities in Nucha, tourism and leisure facilities in Cheonseong and a renewable energy hub in Dumun. A ‘car-free, eco-friendly, pedestrian oriented city’ is promised with a large lake park and a pedestrian park running north-south and east-west. But these are just superficial features of an airport city development primarily designed to support airport operations.

A special bill, opposition and protest

Plans for a major new airport in South Korea’s southeastern region first emerged in 2006, only to be repeatedly shelved due to feasibility concerns. After a November 2020 state committee decision that a proposal to expand the existing Gimhae Airport (30 kilometres northeast of Gadeok Island) was unfeasible, for safety and environmental reasons and lack of local government representation in the process, bids to site a new airport on Gadeok Island and the city of Miryang came to the fore. The Democratic Party, (DP) having a large majority in the National Assembly, has been promoting the former. Then, in March 2021, the National Assembly passed a special bill supporting construction of a new airport on Gadeok Island. Passing of the bill allows construction of the airport to bypass several obstacles, including a normally compulsory preliminary feasibility study to determine viability before embarking on the project. A large majority voted in favour of the special bill, but opposition parties and some DP legislators criticised the government and DP for rushing the bill, passing it only three months after it was proposed. An assessment by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was sceptical about the project and residents and environmentalists expressed concerns over risks to endangered otters. On 30th June 2021, as DP leader Song Young-gil toured the proposed site, a gathering of local residents protested against construction of the airport.

A U$10.97 billion offshore airport

A detailed plan released on 26th April 2022 specified an airport solely for international flights, forecast to handle 23.36 million passengers and 286,000 tonnes of cargo per year by 2065. It would be the country’s first offshore airport, partially built on an artificial island on reclaimed land, requiring an enormous budget of KRW13.7 trillion (U$10.97 billion) and commencing operations in June 2035. Some regional lawmakers said the airport plan would require an even larger budget and longer time frame, adding to the ongoing doubts about the economic viability and concerns over the environmental impacts. Government plans for a free trade zone surrounding the site, intending to develop an international logistics hub, were already in the works. Three days after the release of the plan, on 29th April 2022, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said the government would forgo a feasibility study for the new airport and begin construction in the second half of 2025. Criticism of the airport project was increasing and a group of environmental activists held a protest demanding that the plan be scrapped.

Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation was established on 25th April 2024 to oversee development of the airport. On 5th November 2024 members of a civil society organisation opposing the airport held a press conference in front of Busan city hall, calling on the government to cancel construction plans and denouncing the no-bid development contract that had been awarded to a consortium led jointly by Daewoo E&C and POSCO E&C. Yu Jeong-whon, professor of transportation systems engineering at Ajou University, argued in an article published by Korea JoongAng Daily that Gadeok Airport was being driven by politics, not policy, with passing of the special law supporting the airport, dismissing economic viability and technical feasibility concerns, eroding trust in the government. The cost could rise and the construction period increase to nine years. Despite the huge project cost and significance there had been very little deliberation involving citizens. Building the airport on soft marine sediment would necessitate massive ground reinforcement. The bird strike risk would be high due to the site’s proximity to the Nakdong River estuary, northeast of Gadeok Island, which is a major bird migration route. Fog and high wind speeds could also compromise flight safety.

 On 5th July 2025, two days after a snap election brought in a new DP administration, the Busan government stepped up the drive to develop the new airport, announcing commencement of negotiations on compensation for land and properties within the proposed site and aiming to transfer ownership to the government by the end of the year. Kim Byeong-kwon, director of Busan’s airport planning division, said, “The total number of items for compensation, including land and structures, is over 1,000.” The site contained 68 land parcels covering 37 hectares and the relocating process would affect 378 households. Busan city and the DP announced an extension of the construction timescale from six years to seven years.

Relocation anxieties

The following month Gadeok residents spoke of their anxieties over looming displacement for the airport. A total of 672 residents of three villages – Daehang, Saebaji and Oehaengpo (Oeyangpo) – were facing displacement. A 77 year old woman who had settled in Gadeok in the 1970s and run a small supermarket for 40 years was tearful and having difficulties sleeping due to rapid progress of the airport project and uncertainty over where to relocate to. Banners in Daehang village displayed slogans criticising the airport project and demanding relocation measures. Residents were anxious about the lack of clear answers from the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation which is in charge of relocation and that they might only receive compensation money rather than land or dwellings. The head of the Daehang Fishing Village Association said that in two years of meetings with the corporation relocation measures had not been mentioned. Dissatisfaction with compensation for land taken for development project is common and in Gadeok these concerns were intensified by claims that land prices had not risen in the 20 years of proposals and plans for the airport. On 3rd July 2025 residents holding a rally in front of Daehang breakwater demanded relocation measures and protested the compensation offer. A representative of the Daehang compensation committee demanded formalisation of relocation measures, including support for livelihoods, that had been omitted from the plan.

Lawsuit calls for cancellation

By September 2025 a lawsuit calling for cancellation of the airport master plan, filed by about 1,000 members of Action Against the Promotion of the Gadeokdo New Airport, was heading towards it fourth reading. The lawsuit stated that the site was unsuitable for an airport, having received a less favourable evaluation than alternatives in Gimhae and Miryang, and Gadeok’s natural environment and cultural value should be preserved. Attention to the opposition to Gadeok Airport had been heightened by the 11th 2025 September Seoul Administrative Court ruling cancelling the Saemangeum International Airport project, based on inadequate review of environmental factors, most pertinently the risks to tidal flats and of bird strikes. While the estimate of the likely number of bird strikes was lower for Gadeok Airport than Saemangeum Airport it was higher than Incheon Airport or Gimpo Airport, and some thought that collisions with seabirds around Gadeok’s coastal site, larger and flying at higher altitudes, were a more serious threat to flight safety. Arguments that too many new airports – ten planned and under constriction – were being pursued came from within the aviation and construction industries.

Delay, cost dispute and cost escalation

In November 2025 the government extended the Gadeok Airoprt construction period again, from seven years to ten years and eight months; the completion date was pushed back from 2032 to 2035. Calls for evaluation of the project site risks continued. Land reclamation would be a gargantuan task as the soft layer of ground beneath the site is 50-metres thick and typhoons causing 12 metre high waves would pose risks during construction and operations. In comparison, Incheon Airport was constructed on a soft ground layer one quarter of the thickness and ocean waves are only a third of this height. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced finalisation of the basic design for Gadeok Airport site development on 7th September 2026. The design, prepared by the Daewoo E&C led consortium, will be reviewed by the Central Construction Technology Deliberation Committee. If the basic design is approved construction of the priority section of the airport is due to start in November 2026 with works on the main project anticipated to begin during the first half of 2027. A further project cost escalation is possible. Daewoo E&C requested a KRW620 billion (US$463,860) total project cost increase, citing increasing costs of fuel and materials caused by conflict in the Middle East. Daewoo E&C is benefiting from the airport even before construction begins; the firm’s shares surged by 12% on the day the Gadeok Airport basic design was finalised and it submitted its documents, and by a further 9% on the following day.

Environmental concerns over Vlora Airport and development areas

Rose Bridger Tourism , , , , , , , , , , ,

Construction of a major new airport on the Albanian coast, along with tourism development on adjoining sites, is imminent. A map of the Vlora Airport project plan shows an airport adjoined by several development areas – naturalistic area, sport area, winery area, hotel and resort area, new marina, residential and agricultural area, beach and wooded area. The project is opposed by many organizations, as outlined in a description of the case on EJatlas, the world’s largest, most comprehensive online database of social conflict around environmental issues.

The Vlora Airport project plan map shows an airport and various development areas – hotels and resorts, marina, winery area, beach, wooded area and sport area. Graphic: Invest in Albania, 20/12/2020

A wide range of groups are concerned over damaging impacts on unique wildlife habitats. The site lies within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, one of the largest near-natural wetland complexes along the Adriatic coast, encompassing the Vjosa River (one of few remaining free-flowing rivers in Europe), Narta Lagoon and other wetlands, marshlands, reed beds, woodlands, islands and sandy beaches. The area designated for Vlora Airport and associated development is at the mouth of the Vjosa River, next to Narta Lagoon which is populated by many bird species, most notably flamingos and the endangered Dalmatian pelican. The coastline forms part of the ‘Adriatic Flyway’, a migration corridor which runs across the Balkans, the Adriatic and Southern Italy over to North Africa and is a followed by water birds of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. During migration hundreds of thousands of birds forage and shelter in the area. Aeroplane flightpaths would be incompatible with flocks of flying birds, in particular large birds like flamingos, pelicans, herons and gulls. Birdstrikes, collisions with aircraft, might occur, placing both air passengers and birds at risk.

Local NGO Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA) researched the plans and raised awareness about threats posed to local ecosystems. EuroNatur called for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) meeting global standards. A broader alliance criticising the airport land developed. In March 2021 a letter to the European Commision and Parliament by a coalition of NGOs, calling for support in urging the Albanian government to reconsider plans for the airport and tourism resorts in order to protect Vjosa-Narta, was signed by more than 40 organisations. The concession to build Vlora Airport was awarded to a consortium led by Mabetex Group in March 2021, on very generous terms. If Vlora Airport’s passenger numbers and profits are not as high as expected the project could cost Albanian taxpayers EUR 138 million. Clauses in the contract state that taxpayers must pay up to this sum should the concession fail or be unprofitable.

Despite constant pressure from national and international NGOs, the Albanian government persists in supporting the Vlora Airport project. On 28th November 2021 President Edi Rama opened the construction site. When the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was published a preliminary anaysis by experts from Albanian environmental and scientific researchs organisations siad it was ‘baised’ and identified striking deficiencies. The most important aspects not addressed by the EIA were:

  • The designated area is in an internationally recognised nature reserve could result in sanctions under the provisions of the Bern convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats
  • Lack of involvement of international experts in the decision-making process
  • Risk of natural disasters such as floods, anticipated to increase due to climate change, not taken into account

Speaking in a TRT World video environmentalist Jon Vorpsi questioned the necessity of a new international airport with the country’s main airport located just an hour and a half away. Mirjan Topji of the Birds of Albania group said that Narta lagoon is vital for the survival of Dalmation pelicans and raised concerns over air safety should aircraft collide with birds. Owner of a nearby fish restaurant, Arsen Lambro, disagreed with government claims that the new airport will boost tourism, saying the destruction of ecosystems, flora and fauna would reduce the number of visitors. Yet construction of Vlora Airport is set to begin soon. In January 2022 local ornithologists said noise from trucks and excavators was already scaring pelicans and flamingos away.

Bulacan Aerotropolis threatens fishing livelihoods

Rose Bridger The Philippines , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Approval of plans for Bulacan Aerotropolis in Manila Bay, one of the biggest megaprojects in the Philippines, threatens 700 families with displacement and loss of their fishing livelihoods. Thousands more fisherfolk would be affected by land reclamation for the 2,500 hectare airport and ‘airport city’ complex.

On 25th April the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) of the Philippines approved plans for a new airport and metropolis, i.e. an aerotropolis, in Bulacan province, Manila Bay. Residents of the village of Taliptip and seven other areas will be affected by the project and at least 700 families face displacement. They make their living from selling their fishing catch in a nearby town and from making fishing nets. Their income is low but life is good and they do not want to leave. A woman who has lived in Taliptip for 43 years is worried for the future of her children and grandchildren. They were not informed about the airport plans and have been told they will be relocated, but not where, or how they might make an alternative livelihood.

Local communities resisting loss of their homes and incomes for the airport project are being supported by environmental and church groups and people can follow the local people’s struggle on the Save Taliptip Facebook page. Leon Dulce, national coordinator of the Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, writes that the Bulacan aerotropolis plan is being pursued aggressively and was kept hidden from Taliptip residents until news broke of President Duterte’s approval of the project. The seas surrounding Taliptip support the livelihoods of about 5,000 fisherfolk and salt-makers, who face being displaced for the project.

Living in hardship has made Taliptip’s people resourceful, they live off the grid using solar power and batteries for their modest electricity needs. The fishing catch has dwindled but they are determined to remain in their homes maintain their established communities. A fisherman from Sitio Kinse, an island community in the midst of the mangroves along the shoreline said: “So long as the sea is here, there is hope … What will we fish if all this were turned into cement?” Fisherfolk take care of mangroves, a vital habitat for many bird species including egrets, terns, kingfishers and swallows, along with shellfish living among its roots. At the beginning of May there was a ‘massive mangrove cutting spree’ in Taliptap, reportedly undertaken by SMC, possibly without the required environmental clearance and thought to be connected with Bulacan aerotropolis. On 12th May Pinoy Weekly posted a photo of Taliptip mangroves that had been cut.

National fisherfolk alliance Pamalakaya also opposes the new airport. Chairperson Fernanado Hicap said the project will cause environmental disaster in Manila Bay; destruction of marine ecosystems would threaten the livelihoods of more than 20,000 fisherfolk in Bulacan and neighbouring towns. Hicap also lambasted the broader Build, Build, Build (BBB) infrastructure development programme that the new airport is part of, for selling coastal waters and public lands to large developers and foreign investors. Constructing an airport in Manila Bay would require extensive land reclamation works, creating new land from the sea and wreaking destruction on fishing grounds.

Developers and governments often opt for land reclamation, as an alternative to building on farmland and obviating the loss of productive agricultural land and displacement of rural communities. But dredging up vast volumes of sediment from the ocean bed exacts a terrible ecological toll; ecosystems including mangroves, coral reefs and coastal flats are eradicated when sediment is dumped on top them. The new airport is just one of five land reclamation projects Duterte’s administration has approved in Manila Bay, described by Hicap as disregarding the “socio-economic rights of hundreds of thousands of fisherfolk and coastal settlers”. Land reclamation for the Bulacan airport project is likely to impact not just on the town of Balakan but on the neighbouring towns of Hagonoy and Paombong and the city of Malolos.

A mega-airport and a new metropolis

A mega-airport is planned, with six parallel runways and initial capacity for 100 million passengers annually, more than double the passenger throughput at the existing main Manila airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the busiest in the Philippines. With a budget of P735.63 billion (US$14.2 billion) the new airport in Bulacan is the country’s most expensive transport project to date, by far the most costly of eight infrastructure projects approved as part of the Build, Build, Build (BBB) programme on 25th April by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte.

San Miguel Corp (SMC), the Philippines’ biggest company by revenue – a conglomerate with interests spanning infrastructure, real estate, mining, petroleum, power and food & beverages – is set to build, operate and maintain Bulacan airport and aerotropolis. The plan spans 2,500 hectares, comprising 1,168 hectares allocated for the airport and 1,332 hectares for an adjoining ‘airport city’. The video below includes a graphic showing the basic layout.

SMC’s unsolicited proposal to build Bulacan Airport, revealed after scrutiny by the Department of Transportation in November 2017, featured additional SMC projects, in the form of the obligatory surface transportation network that is inherent to the aerotropolis development model. An SMC-built expressway linking the airport to the North Luzon Expressway is planned, which would in turn link to SMC-backed Metro Rail Transit Line-7. By the time NEDA approved the Bulacan airport proposal in April 2018 the expressway project specified a revenue stream for SMC, an 8.4 kilometre airport toll road. NEDA gave SMC’s proposal for Bulacan airport the green light in spite of Department of Finance concerns that the project is to be implemented by SMC subsidiary San Miguel Holdings Corp, whose capitalization is smaller than the airport project.

Clark Airport – another aerotropolis, another new metropolis

Some potential Bulacan Airport investors were cautious about the project because expansion of Clark Airport could serve similar markets. NEDA has approved US$241 million expansion of Clark Airport as another priority under Build, Build, Build. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez highlighted Clark Airport growth at an Asian Development Bank briefing saying “Clark will will soon be the showcase of the Duterte administration’s economic strategy”. In December  2017 the government awarded the GMR-Megawide consortium the construction contract for trebling Clark Airport’s capacity from current 4 million passengers annually to 12 million by 2020. President and CEO of Clark Airport, Alexander Cauguiran, has stated larger-scale expansion plans, for increasing capacity to 80 million passengers annually upon completion of a fourth phase of development.

A former US military base which is already an economic hub, Clark Airport is also being developed as an aerotropolis, encompassed within a wider area already primed with surface transportation infrastructure and lavish incentives for investors. Clark Airport is part of Clark Freeport, a 4,400 hectare tax and duty incentivized area. Further development of Clark Freeport is prioritized in NEDA supported infrastructure projects; the US$957 million Subic-Clark railway, connecting to the Philippines other freeport zone, has been approved. Clark Freeport adjoins a larger area, the 27,600 hectare Clark Special Economic Zone, where firms can avail themselves of a generous suite of tax breaks including income tax and corporate income tax holidays of up to eight years and exemptions from local government taxes.

In April 2015, as the government infused P1.2 billion (US$27 million) for a low cost passenger terminal, it was reported that the government was ‘pouring investments into Clark aerotropolis’ development’. Nearly three years later, in March 2018, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) pitched Clark Airport to global investors as an ‘airport city’ and ‘growth center’. BCDA senior vice president John Bingcang said “Clark is on its way to becoming Asia’s next aerotropolis with the development not only of the airport, but the Clark Freeport as well” and invited investment in construction of a US$67 million access road to another airport city component, the “smart, green, and resilient” New Clark City. At completion covering an area of 93 square kilometres, planners envisage that New Clark City will be larger than Manhattan, housing 2 million people. Claims that the new metropolis will be sustainable, reduce carbon emissions and ‘pollution-free’, are undermined by aviation dependence. New Clark City is regarded by BCDA as complementing expansion of the airport.

Land disputes and displacement

Development of Clark Airport within Clark Freeport, in the 2,367 hectare Clark Civil Aviation Complex (CCAC), has triggered land disputes. In July 2016 117 farmers cultivating about 200 hectares of CCAC land appealed to President Duterte, drawing attention to their request to Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) to grant them ‘Disturbance Compensation‘. The president of a farmers’ cooperative said construction of factories and an industrial complex had begun without prior consultation. Farmers protested at the construction site, stating that they were willing to surrender farmlands but demanding just compensation plus reimbursement for loss of farm buildings and crops. Almost a year later, in June 2017, cultivation of grains, vegetables and spices in the CCAC appeared to be attracting birds. A Commission on Audit (COA) report blamed farming activities of people it referred to as ‘illegal settlers’ on 647 hectares of land for an increase in bird strikes, collisions with aircraft that can pose a safety risk.

GMR-Megawide is keen on bidding for the operation and management contract of Clark Airport, and already operates Mactan-Cebu Airport, the second busiest in the Philippines. A second terminal is scheduled to open within a few weeks and GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp (GMCAC) plans for further expansion, a third terminal and second runway that would increase airport capacity from the current level of approximately 10 million passengers per year to 28 million passengers by 2039. The project entails reclaiming 300 hectares of Magellan Bay. This option, chosen in a proposal supported by some Cebu congressmen, was seen as preferable to expanding over land as that would have impacts upon between 10,000 and 12,000 households.

SMC, through its subsidiary Trans Aire Development Holdings Corp (TADHC) holds the concession to operate Boracay Airport, the main gateway to the Philippines’ most well-known tourist island. On 16th September 2015 residents facing land expropriation for expansion of the airport protested against plans to purchase their land at a fraction of its market value. The president of Caticlan Land Owners Association said the market rate for real estate in the area was between five and ten times higher per square metre than residents were being offered. Yet some residents had already received court orders instructing them to vacate their homes. Demonstrators gathered outside the airport terminal with placards reading: ‘No To Expansion Caticlan/Boracay Airport’, ‘Stop Harrassment’, ‘Airport Expansion is Killing us’, ‘Expropriation is Oppression’, ‘No to Expropriation, Yes to Fair Negotiation’, ‘CAAP / San Miguel Have Mercy ON US’ and ‘Government for the People, Not Government for San Miguel Corp’. About 200 families were affected by expansion of the airport and in November 2015 the Commission in Human Rights (CHR) in Western Visayas took cognizance of the complaints raised by landowners.

Some residents had no choice but to accept the low compensation offer. By April 2016 a number of families had been evicted to make way for airport expansion and become squatters. Local residents asked TADHC and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for clarification of the scope of Boracay Airport expansion plans, estimated to affect about 8,000 people. By October 2017 SMC was building a new terminal at Boracay Airport and, separate from airport development, expanding the footprint of its tourism related development on 130 hectares of land. Groundbreaking for a 400 room Marriott Hotel was imminent and plans included more hotels, an entertainment complex and an ocean park.