Reducing Area for Seoul Metropolitan Alternative Landfill Site Re-bid... "Effectively Additional Incentives"

Second Public Offering for 60 Days Until July 9

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] A re-tender for candidate sites for the metropolitan area alternative landfill will be conducted. The application conditions, such as the project area and prior consent requirements, have been relaxed, while the scale of support, including a special support fund of 250 billion KRW, remains unchanged. This effectively expands the incentives by offering the same incentives on a smaller area than the first round.

The Ministry of Environment, Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, and the Metropolitan Landfill Management Corporation announced on the 9th that they will conduct a re-tender by relaxing the application conditions for the alternative landfill site. This is due to no local governments applying during the first tender held from January 14 to April 14.

The re-tender will be conducted by the Metropolitan Landfill Management Corporation, which was commissioned by the three parties: the Ministry of Environment, Seoul City, and Gyeonggi Province, just like the first tender. The application period is 60 days from May 10 to July 9. Heads of basic local governments interested in the site must submit their applications to the Metropolitan Landfill Management Corporation within the deadline.

The total site area for this re-tender has been reduced from 2.2 million square meters to at least 1.3 million square meters, and the actual landfill area must secure at least 1 million square meters, down from 1.7 million square meters. The landfill waste targets remain the same as the first tender, including municipal waste, incineration ash from construction and business waste (excluding designated waste), and non-combustible waste.

Regarding auxiliary facilities, the municipal waste preliminary treatment facilities (pre-treatment facility 2,000 tons/day and energy recovery facility 1,000 tons/day) are maintained, while the construction waste separation and sorting facility (4,000 tons/day) included in the first tender has been excluded.

The resident consent requirements have also been relaxed. Heads of basic local governments intending to apply must obtain consent from more than 50% of household heads registered as residents within 2 km of the candidate site boundary. The requirement for more than 70% consent from landowners of the candidate site, included in the first tender, has been removed.

The basic local government selected as the final candidate site and hosting the alternative landfill will receive legal support along with additional benefits (incentives). According to the "Act on Promotion of Installation of Waste Disposal Facilities and Support for Surrounding Areas," welfare facilities for residents will be installed within 20% of the facility installation project cost to support local residents. A resident support fund of up to 20% of the annual landfill fee will be created to support residents in the surrounding impact area.

In addition to legal support, a special support fund of 250 billion KRW and an annual surcharge of 50% of the landfill fee will be allocated as environmental improvement project funds for the surrounding area and directly provided to the basic local government attracting the alternative landfill. In fact, since January 2016, Incheon City, where the metropolitan landfill is located, has been receiving an annual average of 80 billion KRW in a special account from a 50% surcharge on landfill waste fees.

An official from the Ministry of Environment said, "While relaxing the application conditions for the re-tender, the scale of support remains the same as before, which is expected to increase the incentive for local governments to apply," adding, "This will ensure the creation of an eco-friendly alternative landfill, reducing environmental concerns, while providing an opportunity for regional development through the support measures."

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