A South Korean manufacturer of wing-in-ground (WIG) crafts says it will build a plant in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province by 2012.

Wingship Heavy Industries held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday at the Gunsan Free Trade Zone, about 300 kilometers south of Seoul.

North Jeolla Province’s Vice Governor Song Wan-yong and Gunsan Mayor Moon Dong-shin attended the event.

Wingship said the company will begin production in earnest in 2012 and advance into the domestic and international "ground effect vehicle" market.

The manufacturer said it will be able to sell over 20 vessels per year starting in 2015 and will generate one trillion won in sales and 16-hundred new jobs.

WIG crafts can fly one to five meters off the water’s surface using the natural lift created by traveling at high speeds close to the water. They can reach speeds of up to 450 kilometers per hour. Since they are much faster than conventional water-based vessels, WIG crafts are considered a next-generation mode of transport.