Wando-gun Secures 16.8 Billion KRW for Urban Regeneration New Deal Project Selection

Published 16 Dec.2022 15:50(KST)

Today, Hwameok-ri, Geumeil-eup, Established as the Nation's Largest Seaweed Production Hub

Aerial view of Geumil-eup selected as a target area for the Urban Regeneration New Deal project (Photo by Wando-gun)

[Wando=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Kyungpil] Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, has been selected for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's '2022 Urban Regeneration New Deal Project (Specialized Regeneration Type)' competition, securing a total project budget of 16.8 billion KRW.

In July, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport prepared the 'New Government Urban Regeneration Promotion Plan' by reflecting the changed policy environment and analyzing and evaluating the achievements and limitations of urban regeneration projects carried out so far.

Furthermore, the promotion plan announced that it would incorporate it into new projects and select projects with high completeness of implementation plans and expected outcomes.

Accordingly, the county prepared the application project by adopting seaweed, islands, and marine tourism as urban regeneration models to create a 6th industry hub for seaweed in Geumil-eup, which produces more than 70% of kelp nationwide, aiming to develop a high value-added seaweed industry.

In particular, practical capabilities were fully mobilized, including signing a business agreement with Nongshim Co., Ltd., which has purchased Geumil kelp for over 40 years, to support technical consulting for seaweed-specialized products and promotional marketing.

In November, it passed the first evaluation by Jeollanam-do, and after the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport evaluated projects from 22 local governments, Wando-gun achieved the great success of being finally selected.

With the project selection, from 2023 for four years, 16.8 billion KRW (100 million KRW national funds, 1.6 billion KRW provincial funds, 5.1 billion KRW county funds, 10 million KRW self-funding) will be invested to build a seaweed-specialized space using county-owned land in front of the public library in Hwameok-ri, Geumil-eup, and create a seaweed-specialized brand to develop Geumil-eup as the 'largest seaweed production hub in Korea.'

Once the largest seaweed production hub in Korea is established, it is expected to contribute to income increase through expanding the added value of local resources, improve residential conditions to restore urban vitality, and create jobs in business, startups, and operations.

Shin Woo-cheol, the mayor of Wando-gun, stated, "We will do our best to promote the project to achieve visible results in urban regeneration, improve the quality of life of residents, and revitalize the local economy."

Meanwhile, Wando-gun has actively responded to competitions suited to local characteristics, being selected for a total of 12 urban regeneration project competitions, starting with a small-scale regeneration project (Hangdong-ri, Wando-eup) in 2018, a small-scale regeneration project (Jungang-ri, Wando-eup) in 2019, an urban regeneration New Deal project (Jungang, Judo, Seoseong, Yongam-ri, Wando-eup) in 2020, and an urban regeneration recognition project (Noduri, Wando-eup) in 2021.