By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter
The construction of an 18-kilometer-long, 80-meter-wide canal linking the Han River, in Seoul, and the West Sea, will start in March. A total of 2.25 trillion won (about $2 billion) will be earmarked from the national budget. The plan envisions a route for 4,000-ton freighters and ferry services connecting Yongsan, central Seoul, with Chinese ports by 2012.
According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the plan has been finalized after a 10-year delay due to concerns on its economic viability and environmental impact.
A government official said the canal is expected to ease severe congestion on land routes between metropolitan areas and Incheon, a key port on the West Sea. The route is projected to start near Gaewha-dong, Gangseo-gu, western Seoul, near the Han River, and follow a parallel route along the expressway leading to Incheon International Airport.
The plan was finalized after the Korea Development Institute (KDI) concluded in a recent survey that the canal would be economically viable, with its benefit-to-cost ratio calculated at 1.07, lower than another government-sponsored survey by a Dutch firm that showed it to be 1.76, but economically viable.
Construction expenses will be assumed by Korea Water Resources Corp., a government-funded enterprise.
The plan is part of a massive development plan to irrigate, streamline and protect the Han River and three other major rivers across the country, the thrust of the government's ``New Deal'' to stimulate the economy and create more jobs.
The so-called Gyeongin Canal project is expected to create about 25,000 jobs and three trillion won in economic spillover effects, the ministry estimated.
The government, however, said that it has nothing to do with the Grand Canal project, shelved in the face of strong opposition nationwide.
Under the plan, the canal needs 3.8 kilometers of construction on top of the 14.2 kilometers that have already been excavated in anti-flooding measures.
The width of 80 meters is 20 meters narrower than the previous plan. The average depth of the waterway is projected to be about 6.3 meters, which requires additional dredging.
By 2030, the canal is estimated to handle the annual transportation of close to one million regular-sized containers; 750,000 tons of steel and related products and 76,000 new vehicles, as well as 1.05 million passengers, it said.
The canal will be linked with a ferry and cargo terminal developed as part of the Seoul City's Han River Renaissance Project.
``Once the canal is completed, it will serve multiple purposes, ranging from flood control, cruise tours and logistics, to serving as an artery between Seoul and a new city built in Seongdo, Incheon, bringing change to the industrial and geographical map of the western regions of the nation,'' an official said.
foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr
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[단독] 르노삼성, 본사 모델로 한국 공략
