Delivery of subway line 9 in Seoul, South Korea – lessons in public–private partnering

Abstract

The latest subway line in Seoul, South Korea is different to the previous eight publicly funded lines in that its operational systems have been part-delivered by the private-sector in return for a 30 year operating concession. The first US$3 billion phase of subway line 9 opened in 2009 and is proving popular with commuters, while the remaining 14 km of the route is due for completion by 2016. However, the concessionaire has already run into trouble by trying to impose a 50% fare increase last year to improve its under-performing return on investment. This paper describes Korea's first urban rail project to be privately part-funded and operated and discusses the various issues encountered. It concludes with a number of lessons learnt for future public–private partnering infrastructure projects.