Yongin Respia: Environmental Facilities Underground, Baseball Field Above... A Remarkable Transformation of an Undesirable Facility

The Yongin Respia sewage treatment facility, located in Pogok-eup, Cheoin-gu, Yongin Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Sangil), is shedding its reputation as a NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) facility and is being reborn as a multipurpose sports complex for citizens.

A panoramic view of Yongin Respia, where finishing construction is underway ahead of the completion of the Yongin Ecotown Development Project scheduled for June. Provided by Yongin City

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On March 8, Yongin Special City announced that it had completed the installation of newly constructed and expanded sewage and waste treatment facilities through the 'Yongin Ecotown Development Project' and has begun full-scale trial operations. The project is scheduled to be completed as planned in June.

The most notable feature of this project is the complete underground placement of environmental infrastructure. Within the 101,177-square-meter site of Yongin Respia, the Yongin Ecotown Development Project has placed, underground over 51,046 square meters, a second-phase sewage treatment facility with a daily capacity of 22,000 tons (expansion), a food waste treatment facility with a capacity of 250 tons per day (new), and a sludge resource recovery facility with a capacity of 220 tons per day (new).

Particularly, the city has focused on blocking odors, which are a major source of inconvenience for residents. The actual operating facilities are located at a depth of two basement levels or lower, while the first basement level corridor is designed to be wide and comfortable enough for large trucks to pass each other. An enclosed system, in which the lids open only when food waste is introduced, was adopted. As a result, the environment inside the facility is reported to be so pleasant that noise and smells are barely noticeable.

As the environmental infrastructure has been moved underground, the ground-level space that has been secured will be developed into a large-scale sports park for citizens. Two international-standard soccer fields and one baseball field are under construction, and a multipurpose gymnasium equipped with a fitness center and bathhouse will be built as a resident convenience facility.

This project is also expected to contribute to the city's fiscal savings and regional development. By directly processing food waste, which had previously been fully outsourced to the private sector, the city anticipates reducing its annual processing costs by approximately 30%, from about 10 billion won to 7 billion won.

In addition, the city had been operating a sewage treatment facility with a daily capacity of 56,000 tons at Yongin Respia. With the 'Yongin Ecotown Development Project,' the daily capacity has increased by 22,000 tons (39.3%), making it possible to process up to 78,000 tons per day. As a result, it is expected that development projects in the Cheoin-gu area, which had faced challenges due to total water pollution load regulations, will gain momentum.

A multipurpose gymnasium under construction at Respia Yongin. Provided by Yongin City

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Mayor Lee Sangil stated, "Through the Yongin Ecotown Development Project, we have not only expanded essential environmental infrastructure such as large-scale sewage and food waste treatment facilities that are vital for the city's development and citizens' daily lives, but we have also improved efficiency and saved budget by integrating these facilities. This project has transformed Yongin Respia, once considered an undesirable facility, into a citizen-friendly space, demonstrating our ability to balance urban development with environmental protection."

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