Ministry Extends Gangneung Anin Coal Plant Construction to March 2029

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has approved a revision of the implementation plan for the Gangneung Anin Units 1 and 2 power development project, extending the construction period from September 2026 to March 2029 and replacing the representative director of the project operator. The decision was published as Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Notice No. 2026-248 in the Official Gazette (Gwanbo) No. 21334 of 6 October 2026, in the notices section.

The approval was issued under Article 5 of the Electric Power Source Development Promotion Act, which requires the ministry to approve and publish implementation plans for power source development projects. The plan for the coal-fired plant at Anin-ri, Gangdong-myeon, Gangneung, Gangwon Province, was first published in 2015 and has since been amended through nine earlier notices, the most recent dated 24 December 2024. The ministry said the change reflects the replacement of the operator’s representative and the completion schedule for the plant and the associated urban planning facility works.

Operator and schedule changes

• Project operator: Gangneung Eco Power Co., Ltd. (강릉에코파워 주식회사), whose representative director changes from Jang Yong-chang to Jo Won-gyun.
• Registered address (unchanged): 1954 Yulgok-ro, Gangdong-myeon, Gangneung, Gangwon Province.
• Project period: previously November 2015 to September 2026; now November 2015 to March 2029.
• Stated reason: the change of project operator and the extension of the project period in view of the completion schedule for the Gangneung Anin Units 1 and 2 plant and the urban planning facility works.

The plant and its site

• Capacity: 1,040 MW × 2 units, a total of 2,080 MW.
• Fuel: coal.
• Main facilities: a coal-fired, ultra-supercritical, once-through boiler with variable-pressure operation, and a tandem, reheat, regenerative condensing turbine.
• Site: 711 Anin-ri and surrounding land, Gangdong-myeon, Gangneung, Gangwon Province; total area 1,166,529 m², comprising 622,710 m² on land and 543,819 m² at sea.
• Stated purpose: to help meet rising electricity demand and contribute to national supply stability, as reflected in the Sixth Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand of 2013.

Related permits and harbour works

The same notice revises a series of authorisations attached to the project:

• Farmland conversion permit under Article 34 of the Farmland Act: 455,156 m² at 702 Anin-ri and 366 other parcels.
• Forest land conversion permit under Article 14 of the Mountainous Districts Management Act: 30,673 m² at 1-9 Anin-ri and 47 other parcels.
• Public water surface occupation and use permit under Article 8 of the Public Waters Management and Reclamation Act: reduced from 1,478,384 m² to 1,448,064 m².
• Approval of the revised implementation plan for public water surface occupation under Article 17 of the same act, covering construction of harbour facilities for the plant; the works period moves from October 2018–September 2026 to October 2018–March 2029, with total construction cost of 714,212 hundred million won (about 71.4 trillion won).

Inspection and entry into force

The notice states that the plan may be inspected through the Land Information service at eum.go.kr and at the offices of Gangneung Eco Power Co., Ltd., and that maps covering national infrastructure are withheld from disclosure under the ministry’s environmental spatial information security rules. The notice takes effect on the day it is published.

For readers, the notice confirms that the 2,080 MW coal-fired project on Korea’s east coast will remain under construction for a further two and a half years, and that responsibility for it now rests with a new representative director of Gangneung Eco Power Co., Ltd., with the associated land, forest and coastal permits extended on the same timetable.

Source: Gwanbo (Official Gazette of the Republic of Korea), No. 21334, 6 October 2026, notices section, p. 41 (official reference: Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment Notice No. 2026-248).