'Public Building Green Remodeling No.1' Gwangmyeong City Cheolsan Daycare Center Completed

Comparison of Green Remodeling Before and After at Cheolsan Children's Center in Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do (Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The Green Remodeling of Public Buildings, one of the 10 major projects of the Korean New Deal, has borne its first fruit.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it held a completion ceremony on the 17th for the Cheolsan Municipal Cheolsan Daycare Center in Cheolsan-dong, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, which was reborn through the Green Remodeling of Public Buildings.

The Green Remodeling of Public Buildings is a project that supports remodeling costs for aging public buildings used by vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, aiming to improve energy performance and reduce indoor fine dust, thereby enhancing the environment.

The Cheolsan Municipal Cheolsan Daycare Center, completed in 1999, was a place where parents had many concerns about building safety and childcare environment due to aging facilities. Gwangmyeong-si initially planned to renovate the daycare center but changed the plan to green remodeling with government support to also improve energy efficiency.

Through comprehensive green remodeling, this facility applied enhanced insulation, Low-E double-glazed windows, condensing boilers, and heat recovery ventilation systems. The Low-E double-glazed windows consist of energy-saving Low-E glass coated with a metal that has a high infrared reflectance, layered in double glazing.

Compared to before the project, the primary energy consumption decreased by more than 88%, and heating and cooling costs dropped by 78%, saving approximately 5.2 million KRW annually. The solar power generation system installed on the roof produces 79% of the energy used by the facility, earning it a Grade 3 certification for zero-energy buildings.

Additionally, to comply with facility standards such as the Infant Care Act, a new external emergency staircase was installed, and aging playground equipment and lighting were replaced to provide children with a safer and more comfortable educational environment.

This year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport secured 227.6 billion KRW in national funds through the third supplementary budget to launch the Green Remodeling of Public Buildings project included in the Korean New Deal. A total of 862 public buildings from 195 local governments nationwide were selected as project targets, and work has commenced on 838 buildings.

Design work is underway for about 600 buildings, and more than 200 buildings are expected to be completed by the end of the year. Accordingly, the Ministry expects that from next year, completed cases applying green remodeling will appear in earnest. Next year, the project will be promoted at the same scale as this year, with plans to select an additional 1,000 buildings.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Kim Hyunmi, Democratic Party lawmakers Im Okyung and Yang Gidae, and Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seungwon. The completion ceremony was held with a minimum number of attendees in compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines.

Minister Kim said, "Starting with the first completed project, Cheolsan Daycare Center, we expect the achievements of the Green Remodeling of Public Buildings to spread in earnest," emphasizing, "the government will make further efforts to revitalize green remodeling through tailored policies."

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