The new airport designs show two terminal hubs––possibly one for domestic flights and another for international flights––that are designed to resemble traditional Korean drums, according to a PLTpress release.
Each terminal will be two stories tall with a total floor space of 12,000 sq m. According to the blueprints, each building can accommodate six planes at once. Arrivals will take place on the ground floor, departures on the elevated floor. One terminal features an ‘indoor garden’.
North Korea has been constructing a new ‘hardened’ air force base five miles to the southwest of the Wonsan landing strip since 2002. Assuming this plan is put into action, the Korean People’s Army Air Force squadron is likely to relocate there.
Once completed, the hardened air force base––which has has received extensive media coverage––will be composed of primary and secondary runways approximately 2,470m long. Most of the fleet and support facilities, however, will be hidden underground. Converting the abandoned Wonsan Airforce Base into a civilian airport makes sense given economic development in the Kangwon-do region.
It is not a shortage of regional airports or poor infrastructure, however, that has hindered foreign direct investment in North Korea – a lack of policies and organizations that credibly protect property rights and enforce contract terms are still the primary problems facing Pyongyang’s economic “adjusters” who seek to attract more foreign direct investment.
Following wide international coverage of the Xiyang mining company and the ill-fated Kaesong Industrial Zone, it will likely be some time before most large foreign investors will feel secure in a big bet in the DPRK.
