south korea A New Course Planned in Busan

A U.S. company is part of a group that aims to build a golf complex at a gigantic free economic zone along the southern coast of South Korea.

Las Vegas, Nevada-based Acrylic Tank Manufacturing is part of the Youngwon-STX Consortium, which has signed an agreement to build a sports- and recreation-themed community at the Busan-Jinhae FEZ in Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city (after Seoul). The 25,000-acre spread -– one of three FEZs that the nation has created to attract foreign investment –- will eventually have dozens of factories, industrial parks, and offices, along with houses, schools, medical centers, and entertainment venues for the thousands of people who work there.

The consortium is led by Jinhae-based STX Construction. STX’s primary partner is Youngwon Development Corporation, but several South Korean and U.S. companies are part of the group.

The consortium plans to develop the FEZ’s 5,184-acre Ungdong district. In the first phase of the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2013, it’ll build several leisure-time attractions, including a water park, an aquarium, a marina, and a 30-hole golf complex. The complex will likely consist of an 18-hole regulation-length course, a nine-hole “short” course, and a practice center with three practice holes.

In the second phase of the project, which is scheduled to begin in 2016, the partners hope to build condos, a resort-style hotel along the waterfront, a casino, a shopping area, a hospital, and schools.

Acrylic Tank Manufacturing will be primarily responsible for the district’s water park and aquarium, but it’ll have a role in developing the golf complex as well. The partners expect to break ground on the golf complex until 2011.