Busan amphibious tourism bus operation to be postponed until second half of this year

SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) - The operation of amphibious tour buses in Busan has been virtually postponed until the second half of this year.

This is because related businesses are embroiled in legal disputes and infrastructure creation is being delayed.

According to the Busan Metropolitan Government on Sunday, amphibious buses were originally planned to start operating in the second half of last year.

However, when Consortium A was selected as the first preferred bidder in April 2021, Company B, the second preferred bidder, filed an injunction to suspend the selection of the preferred bidder, saying, "Illegal was involved."

In fact, a consortium official was booked in September last year on charges that they borrowed the names of two companies to form a consortium and submitted an untrue investment ratio to the Busan Metropolitan Government.

The provisional injunction filed by Company B was recently rejected, but the project was disrupted by the Coast Guard investigation and legal disputes.

For this reason, the start of amphibious buses, which were planned to start the operation in the second half of last year, was postponed to April this year.

However, the construction of the access road connected to the Suyeong River under the basement of APEC Naru Park in Haeundae-gu, Busan, has been delayed, with no related administrative procedures yet underway.

The amphibious bus will depart near the Gongjagyo Bridge, travel along the Suyeong River to Centum Marina Park, and use the access road to go up to land and run on the Busan Cinema Center, Gwangan Bridge, Gwangan-ri Beach Road, and Minrak Waterfront Road.

An official from Busan City said, "It is expected that amphibious buses will not be available until the second half of this year."

In the meantime, the Busan Metropolitan Government has recently started a public subscription for marine taxi operators.

It plans to receive applications from March 16 to 17, select a preferred bidder in April, and start operations within 18 months after signing an agreement.

If the procedure goes as planned, marine taxis are expected to start operating in the second half of next year.

Marine taxis operate with two or more eco-friendly ships with 4 to 20 seats in the original downtown areas such as Busan Port Namhang Port, Songdo, and Yeongdo.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)

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