Naju-si Selected for 'Regionally Customized Integrated River Project'... 360 Billion Won Scale

[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Yoon Byung-tae) announced on the 23rd that it was finally selected as the target site for the "Regionally Customized Integrated River Project" announced by the Ministry of Environment on the 22nd.

The city secured 180 billion KRW in national funds and 54 billion KRW in provincial funds, and will promote the "Yeongsan River Naju City Integrated River Project" with a total scale of 360 billion KRW.

The regionally customized integrated river project is a new initiative by the Ministry of Environment that integrates river projects that have been individually pursued for flood control, environment, water quality, and waterfront development.

The core is not only to secure flood safety but also to improve the river environment according to local conditions and create an appropriate level of waterfront space to enhance the public's leisure quality.

The Ministry of Environment selected and announced a total of 22 sites (18 national rivers and 4 local rivers), including the Yeongsan River in Naju, after an expert committee evaluation process among 46 local governments that advanced to the final screening.

Through the selection, the city will officially start the customized integrated river project from next year for about a 6 km section of the Yeongsan River around Naju Bridge to Yeongsan Bridge and Gongsan Dayadeul area (total area 3.8 km²) to secure flood control, water management, water quality environment, and waterfront space.

The plan includes "bank maintenance," "retention basin improvement," "maintenance of aging sewage pipelines in the river," "riverside sports facilities," and the "Yeongsan River National Garden," a pledge project of the 8th mayoral term, with a total project cost of 360 billion KRW over 10 years until 2032.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae has designated the Ministry of Environment’s regionally customized integrated river project as the biggest pending issue of the 8th mayoral term, focusing administrative power on activating the tourism industry utilizing the ecological resources of the Yeongsan River and establishing an ecological river belt connecting the old downtown, Yeongsanpo, and the Innovation City.

With goals of "securing flood safety," "improving river water quality," and "revitalizing the local economy," the city has systematically established a project plan and continuously appealed to the Ministry of Environment, the National Assembly, and Jeollanam-do about the necessity and justification of the project utilizing Naju’s geographical characteristics, which account for 45% of the entire Yeongsan River section, and its natural ecological resources.

As a result, the city, which advanced to the final screening as Jeollanam-do’s top priority project, held a 10-minute PPT presentation themed on Mahan culture and the Yeongsan River at the final screening held at the Sejongbo Management Office on the 7th, and achieved the great success of being finally selected through the Ministry of Environment’s announcement that day.

Mayor Yoon Byung-tae said, "Through the Yeongsan River integrated river project, the old downtown, Yeongsanpo, and Innovation City, which had been separated by the river, will be integrated into one, and flood safety will be secured along with water quality and environmental improvements."

He added, "We will develop the Yeongsan River into a world-class attraction by creating a national ecological garden and leisure facilities that utilize the functions and characteristics of the retention basin, and we will accelerate the project so that the Yeongsan River, which has nurtured Naju, can once again become a new growth engine for Naju’s development."

Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong baekok@asiae.co.kr

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