Six general hospitals in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, including Myongji Hospital, decided to participate in the government's K-Bio Lab Hub construction project and signed an agreement with the city last Friday.

K-Bio Lab Hub is a project to create an industrial complex for nurturing bio startups, aiming to build a comprehensive infrastructure so that new drug development startups can conduct experiments, research, and clinical trials, Myongji Hospital said in a press release.

The other five medical institutions taking part in the project are National Cancer Center, Ilsan Hospital, Dongguk University Ilsan Medical Center, Inje University Ilsan Paik Hospital, and CHA Ilsan Medical Center.

Under the accord, the city and the six will provide administrative and financial support for startups in the K-Bio Lab Hub and existing companies moving into the complex to help them settle down smoothly. They also agreed to actively cooperate on joint research and project development through the joint use of research space and facilities.

Earlier, Gyeonggi Province announced that it had applied to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups for 30,000 square meters of land within Ilsan Techno Valley as a site for the K-Bio Lab Hub construction project.

The K-Bio Lab Hub Construction Project construction will start in 2023 and end in 2024 at the cost of 335 billion won ($301.3 million).

"Goyang City has excellent medical infrastructure as it is home to six large hospitals, including Myongji Hospital," Mayor Lee Jae-joon said. "We have all the backgrounds needed for the growth of the bio and medical businesses, including the plan to create a 'Peace Medical Cluster' in Ilsan Techno Valley, which will begin construction in the second half of this year."