Korean Investment

A Korean property development company, CoDA, is planning to increase the value of Swansea’s SA1 docklands project by  £80 million through investment.   The money poured into the project would develop Harbour Square, which overlooks the Prince of Wales Dock, with the creation of 406 apartments with shops.   Moreover, this new development would add to the growth expected in the area with 1,500 new jobs at a Jersey Marine distribution center established recently. It would take three years to build the 406 new apartments with shops on Harbour Square.   The Korean investment is expected to create approximately 400 construction jobs, and lead to further growth with respect to the project.   Indeed, this project is the biggest one in the scheme, turning old docklands into a modernized place to live and work.   The total cost of the scheme is estimated at  £400 million. CoDA, backed by UK and Korean banks as well as investment funds, is expected to make a formal announcement about its plan early next week.   The fact that the Korean firm chose Swansea ahead of many other potential sites in the UK has been explained by CoDA’s chief executive, Hoshik Chi, thus: â€Å"The market in Swansea is dynamic and buoyant, and I have been most impressed by the city and the surrounding area.† The Korean firm would seek planning permission for the 2.7-acre site soon.   The development on this site would consist of twin structures, four to eight storeys high, offering reasonably priced housing and car parking, in addition to seven retail units.   Developers are claiming that the new development would be as modernized as possible, featuring a community  heating system which would be fueled by zero emission wood pellets, in addition to a rain harvesting system. This eco-friendly development may very well be the biggest investment of a Korean company in the UK.   What is more, the Korean investment is bound to be highly profitable, seeing as Swansea’s city center and its waterfront are also in the process of being transformed through a  £1 billion plan announced last week; and the people of Wales continue to demand residential accommodation.   Other Korean companies may also join CoDA in Swansea’s development and modernization, especially since South Korea has relaxed its laws regulating the purchase of property in foreign countries.