South Korea will aim to host the country’s first World Expo in the southern port city of Busan in 2030 with a budget of 4.9 trillion won (US$4.12 billion), the industry ministry said Tuesday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will file the application to the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in 2021 to host the World Expo in the city, located 450 kilometers south of Seoul. The final winner is set to be picked in 2023, with six to seven countries anticipated to compete to host the event, according to the ministry.

South Korea earlier hosted small-scale recognized events, the Specialized Expo in Daejeon and Yeosu in 1993 and 2012, respectively, but it has not hosted the registered World Expo that covers a wider range of topics. The registered events are held every five years, with Shanghai and Milan having hosted the 2010 and 2015 events, respectively. The six-month World Expo is expected to attract a whopping 50 million visitors to the city and help beef up its local economy and tourism industry, the ministry said. The World Expo 2030, if hosted, is expected to create economic value worth 43 trillion won in the country and generate 500,000 jobs, it added. The World Expo held in Milan attracted 22 million visitors from 140 countries, according to the ministry.