Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop's Pledge Project: Promotion of 'Gwangjucheon Arirang Cultural Waterway Development'

Start of Phase 1 Environmental Maintenance Construction... 38 Billion KRW Invested by 2022

Mayor Lee: "Providing a Waterside Space Harmonizing Ecology Preservation, Culture, and Tourism"

On the afternoon of the 17th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gwangjucheon Arirang Waterway Construction Project held at the confluence of Gwangjucheon in Im-dong, Buk-gu. He participated in the first digging along with distinguished guests including Kim Yong-jip, Chairman of the Gwangju City Council, Moon In, Mayor of Buk-gu, and Seo Dae-seok, Mayor of Seo-gu. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The construction of the Gwangjucheon Arirang Cultural Waterway, a pledge project of Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop, will be officially launched with a groundbreaking ceremony on the 17th.

On this day, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced that it held the groundbreaking ceremony for the Gwangjucheon Arirang Cultural Waterway Environmental Maintenance Project (Phase 1) at the confluence of Gwangjucheon in Im-dong, attended by about 100 people including Mayor Lee Yong-seop, Kim Yong-jip, Chairperson of the Gwangju City Council, city council members, district heads, and citizens.

This project was promoted to transform Gwangjucheon into a waterfront space where various flora and fauna can inhabit and citizens can enjoy culture and tourism together.

In particular, a total of 38 billion KRW will be invested by 2022 to secure water volume in Gwangjucheon, improve water quality, restore ecology, and create waterfront spaces.

The Phase 1 project involves installing pipelines with a budget of 11 billion KRW to supply 16,000 tons of raw water daily from the 4th water source, which is of first-grade water quality, and 1,350 tons of groundwater from large buildings around Gwangjucheon. Additionally, a coagulation and flocculation facility will be added to the 100,000-ton-per-day river maintenance water filtration facility to improve water quality.

Through this, Gwangju City plans to raise the average water quality of Gwangjucheon from level II~III to level II.

Phases 2 and 3 will follow sequentially with an investment of 27 billion KRW.

Moreover, three fixed weirs near Sangmu Bridge (Deokheung 2 Weir), Dongcheon Bridge (Yuchon Weir), and Taepyeong Bridge (Taepyeong Weir, a drop structure) will be replaced with movable weirs.

Unlike concrete fixed weirs, movable weirs can adjust their height as needed. Under normal conditions, periodic discharge prevents pollutant sedimentation and water pollution, and during heavy rain, they can be fully opened to lower flood levels by up to 60 cm.

A dedicated space for river flora and fauna will also be prepared. About 400 meters along the right bank from the confluence with the Yeongsan River to Chipyeong Bridge will be planted with silver grass and other plants to block human access, and stone piles and sotdae (traditional Korean totem poles) will be installed to create habitats for flora and fauna.

Various new waterfront spaces that combine culture and tourism will also be created. A multipurpose plaza will be established on the riverbank near Gwangcheon 2 Bridge to Gwangam Bridge, aiming to become a new outing spot.

Near Namgwang Bridge and Jungang Bridge, waterfront facilities where people can dip their feet will be installed, supplied by the 4th water source and groundwater from large buildings.

Along the riverbanks from Gwangcheon 1 Bridge to Balsan Bridge, including the lower areas and around Yangdong Market and Yangnim Historical and Cultural Village, facilities will be refurbished to become popular spaces for citizens. Additionally, 40,000 shrubs such as Namtcheon and Lespedeza, and 74,000 ground cover plants like daylilies and silver grass will be abundantly planted throughout the river.

Furthermore, from next year, support projects encouraging cultural and artistic group activities such as performances and art using Gwangjucheon as a stage will be promoted annually.

However, although the plan was to promote the Arirang Waterway project by securing maximum national funding, from January 1 this year, the ecological river restoration project was transferred to a local government project under the Balanced Development Special Account (national funds) as part of the government's fiscal decentralization, excluding it from national funding support. Nevertheless, since Gwangjucheon has been upgraded to a national river, national funds will be secured and used for the installation of river facilities such as embankments and movable weirs.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “Once the Arirang Cultural Waterway construction is completed, Gwangjucheon will be reborn as an ecological conservation space where various flora and fauna inhabit, an ecological cultural space that embodies unique culture and space, and an experiential rest area providing citizens with a pleasant and comfortable place to relax.” He added, “Through this environmental maintenance project, I hope our citizens will be able to experience a clean Gwangjucheon, a Gwangjucheon that citizens want to visit, and a Gwangjucheon where otters can live safely.”

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