70 Small-Scale Regeneration Projects Selected This Year... Up to 200 Million KRW Budget Support

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 1st that it plans to select small-scale regeneration projects for 2020 by the end of April, with the selection plan announced on the 28th of last month.

Small-scale regeneration projects are initiatives where residents discover 3 to 4 unit projects that can be completed within 1 to 2 years, and when local governments apply, the Ministry evaluates and reviews them, providing up to 200 million KRW in national funding per site. This year, a total of 10 billion KRW in national funds will be used to select about 70 locations.

Since 2018, a total of 145 sites have been selected for small-scale regeneration projects. As these projects serve as preparatory initiatives allowing residents to directly experience regeneration projects and feel the necessity of regeneration before the New Deal projects, 32 of these sites have been sequentially selected for the Urban Regeneration New Deal projects, indicating that the project effects are gradually emerging.

Small-scale regeneration projects are divided into hardware (H/W) projects, such as creating resident community spaces like resident hubs and communal childcare rooms, and software (S/W) projects that enhance resident capabilities and activate communities, such as operating regeneration schools and hosting village festivals.

In this year’s call for applications, to ensure more substantial operation, the Urban Regeneration Support Center is required to thoroughly investigate the resources and conditions of the relevant area before the project application, after which the local government prepares and submits a project plan reflecting these findings. Additionally, to enable continuous use after project completion, an operation plan including the operating entity, target, and funding procurement must also be submitted at the time of application.

The Ministry plans to discourage consumptive projects such as simple aesthetic maintenance as much as possible, and reduce the selection schedule from twice a year (first and second half) to once a year, allowing earlier selection to sufficiently extend the preparation and budget execution period for local governments.

This call for applications will accept submissions from local governments until April 6, followed by document and presentation evaluations, with the final selection results to be announced on April 29.

Jo Sung-gyun, Director of Urban Regeneration Capability at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "To guarantee the success of the Urban Regeneration New Deal projects, capacity-building projects such as small-scale regeneration projects must first be properly implemented," adding, "We look forward to active applications from local governments preparing for the Urban Regeneration New Deal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.