Water Industry Cluster Tenants... Achieved 98.2 Billion KRW in Sales and 8 Billion KRW in Exports This Year

Panoramic View of the National Water Industry Cluster

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Companies residing in the National Water Industry Cluster achieved results in the second half of this year with total sales increasing by 1.2 times and export volume by 1.7 times compared to the first half.

The Ministry of Environment and the Korea Environment Corporation announced on the 20th the results of a survey on the sales and export volumes of 32 companies located in the National Water Industry Cluster in Dalseong-gun, Daegu, for the first and second halves of this year.

This year, total sales amounted to 98.2 billion KRW, showing a 1.2-fold increase in the second half (54 billion KRW) compared to the first half (44.2 billion KRW). Total exports this year were 8 billion KRW, increasing 1.7 times in the second half (5.05 billion KRW) compared to the first half (2.94 billion KRW).

Additionally, the 32 resident companies newly hired 76 water industry specialists, continuing steady growth despite the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Opened in September, the National Water Industry Cluster is the first facility in Korea established to support the entire cycle of water companies’ technology development, demonstration experiments, product commercialization, and domestic and international market expansion.

It supports water companies’ business activities based on year-round operation of demonstration facilities, establishment of testing and analysis infrastructure across all water-related fields, and securing distributed demonstration facilities in five metropolitan cities.

The Water Dream commercialization program is operated to nurture startups and early-stage companies. Notably, 'AquaWorks' achieved a 1.9-fold increase in sales in the second half (19 million KRW) compared to the first half (10 million KRW).

'LSTES' is currently conducting demonstration experiments in Portugal with support of 250 million KRW for overseas demonstration costs. Depending on the results, it is expected to receive orders worth 22.7 billion KRW by 2023 from the multinational semiconductor company AMKOR Technology.

The National Water Industry Cluster is jointly conducting four national research and development projects (total research funding of 22 billion KRW) with resident companies. It is also promoting COVID-19 response support such as online export consultations and reductions in rent and demonstration plant usage fees.

The global water market is forecasted to grow steadily at an average annual rate of 3.4% until 2024. The Ministry of Environment plans to focus on fostering the 'Smart Water Industry' as one of the five leading green industries driving the Green New Deal.

Kim Dong-jin, Director of the Water Resources Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "Despite difficulties caused by COVID-19, I appreciate the persistent efforts of water companies, the main players in the water industry, to overcome the crisis, and we will do our best to support them to achieve even more remarkable results."

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