Special legislation came into force Monday that will begin developing the southern resort island of Jeju as an international free city that is expected to rival Hong Kong as a Northeast Asian hub of international business, trade, and tourism in 10 years' time. The special law provides the legal basis for the government to turn Jeju into a place that guarantees the free flow of workers, commodities, and capital. The envisioned plan calls for major revisions to laws and regulations and the offering of various incentives to attract foreign investment, as well as improving Jeju's infrastructure. The government hopes to complete development by 2011 with the infusion of 31.5 trillion won (US$24 billion) in central and local government finance as well as private investment. By sector, 13.7 trillion won is to be targeted at tourism development, 2.2 trillion won on social development, 567 billion won on the environment, and 855 billion won on maritime and fisheries development. In addition, 3.67 trillion won is planned for improving Jeju's traffic infrastructure, 158 billion won on information infrastructure and some 1 trillion won on energy development.