South Korea will spend 16.9 trillion won ($13.5 billion) in the coming years enhancing the water quality and supply system of its four major rivers, the government said Monday.

The masterplan for the "Four-river Restoration Project" to be completed by 2012 calls for large-scale dredging operations of river bottoms, construction of small dams, catch basins and reservoirs that can store up to 1.3 billion cubic meters of fresh water and greatly raise water quality, Yonhap News Agency reported, quoting the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

The Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan rivers development project aims to prevent floods, cope with water shortages and create jobs through construction work and better use of resources.

The ministry said the country spends an average of 8 trillion won every year dealing with floods, while estimates claim that the country will suffer a water shortage of 1 billion cubic meters by 2016 due to climate change. Water shortages can also lead to sharp deterioration of water quality that can have serious repercussion on the four rivers that flow through the country's major cities, industrial centers and key farmlands.

The plan is a finalized version of the "green new deal" policy initiative outlined by the government's regional development committee in December 2008 and part of the eco-friendly economic growth program pursued by the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Under the plan, 16 new catch basins that can hold an additional 800 million cubic meters of water will be built with close to 100 reservoirs being refurbished to provide 250 million cubic meters of water for farmlands.

The project will call for two medium sized dams to be built with two existing dams to be connected to better regulate water on the Nakdong River. The river flows through the country's southeastern region and frequently suffers from spring droughts.

Up to 573 km of river banks will be strengthened, with flood gates to be built on the estuary of the Nakdong and Yeongsan rivers to help prevent floods.

The water quality of the four rivers will be raised to relatively clean "Grade II" levels that have a biological oxygen demand of less than 3 parts per million (ppm). Such water is capable of sustaining most aquatic life and can be used for recreational purposes.

As of 2008, roughly 76 percent of the four rivers have Grade II levels, a figure that will be raised to 83-86 percent by 2012.

State funds will also be used to create "model villages" to attract tourists that will opt for eco-friendly methods to grow farm products for the 3.9 million people who live near the four rivers.