Supplying Tap Water to Ulsan Hyundai Motor, Which Used Industrial Water... This Is What a 'Win-Win' Looks Like

Hyundai Motor Investment Cost Reduced by 11.9 Billion KRW, Ulsan City Earns 1.3 Billion KRW Annually

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Ulsan city water supply will be provided to the ‘Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant,’ which had been using industrial water treated internally as domestic water.

Ulsan City announced that it completed the water supply pipeline construction at the end of December last year to ensure a stable supply of domestic water to the Hyundai Motor Ulsan Plant and started supplying water from this year.

When Hyundai Motor built the plant in 1968, due to the insufficient water supply capacity of Ulsan City, it received industrial water and treated it internally to use as domestic water within Hyundai Motor.

However, without an advanced water purification process, workers were exposed to the risk of water quality accidents when the quality of the Nakdong River raw water, used as industrial water, deteriorated.

Hyundai Motor, which needed to secure a stable supply of domestic water, had been in continuous discussions with Ulsan City for over 10 years regarding water supply but faced issues such as cost.

Ulsan City found a solution by utilizing the Yeompo water reservoir, which was scheduled to be closed due to aging and underutilization, as an exclusive reservoir for Hyundai Motor.

Of the total construction cost of 1.1 billion KRW, Ulsan City agreed to cover 600 million KRW for the improvement of the Yeompo reservoir, and Hyundai Motor agreed to cover 500 million KRW for the installation of the water pipes. Construction began in September last year, was completed in December, and water supply started in January this year.

With this water supply, Hyundai Motor saved 11.9 billion KRW in new investment costs due to aging drinking water facilities. Ulsan City also gained an annual management profit of 1.3 billion KRW by supplying 5,000 cubic meters of water daily, achieving a win-win development effect.

An official from Ulsan City said, “Through proactive administration, we resolved corporate difficulties and provided workers with clean and safe tap water stably,” adding, “We will continue to actively address corporate complaints for large-scale new investments.”

Ulsan City signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding for New Investment in Hyundai Motor Ulsan Electric Vehicle Exclusive Plant’ with Hyundai Motor on September 15 last year and is providing administrative and financial support such as dispatching staff for various permits and consultations for plant construction and regulatory relaxation to expand corporate investment to ensure the electric vehicle exclusive plant is built promptly.

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