The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday it will create public farmland on the central Seoul island of Nodeul, overturning its earlier plan to build an opera house there.

Under the new plan, the municipal government will transform about one third of the uninhabited island located in the middle of the Han River into farmland before renting it out to the public starting in May. The island, covering 60,818 square meters, has long been deserted with some part of it once used as a tennis court.

Empty spaces on the island will be used for a public park with a hobby farm for children as well as walking trails, the city government said.

Under former Mayor Oh Se-hoon, the government had planned to build an opera house and a concert hall with a budget of 673.5 billion won ($599.7 million) by 2014. The plan was reversed by current Mayor Park Won-soon who has pushed for reinvigorating a sense of community through eco-friendly projects such as kitchen gardens in the city.

“We’ve decided to tentatively operate farmland on the island as it would take at least two years to alter the usage of the land into other purposes,” said Choi Kwang-bin, director of the city’s parks department. “It would serve as a desirable leisure place for the public as it is located at the center of the city.”

(Yonhap News)