The government says it will push to expand Gimhae International Airport in earnest, as the project passed a preliminary feasibility study by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on Monday.  

Five provincial governments in the country's southeastern region had agreed to build a new local airport but in June of last year, the central government decided instead to expand the existing airport following a year-long feasibility study by French airport engineering company ADPi.

The KDI also conducted its own preliminary feasibility study on the airport expansion over the past nine months.

The government plans to spend about six trillion won to add runways and a passenger terminal to Gimhae Airport with completion slated for 2026.

An official at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the expansion project is the fundamental solution to satisfying the surge in air transport demand in the country’s southeastern area.