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$2.2 billion Incheon canal, but few ships
In this Sept. 4, 2018 photo, Gyeongin Ara Waterway's Gimpo Terminal remains empty amid frozen water. Korea Times file
By Ko Dong-hwan
By Ko Dong-hwan
Gyeongin Ara Waterway is an 18 kilometer-long canal connecting Korea's West Sea and Seoul's Han River. But after 2.68 trillion won ($2.23 billion) infused and completion in 2012 with rosy prospects, the waterway now carries hardly any ships. The situation is a far cry from what was envisaged when construction began in 2009.
The only ship using the canal is a 1,300-ton sightseeing vessel that operates three times a day Monday-Friday and four times on Saturday. But the ship only operates along a 10 kilometer section between Incheon's Sicheon dock and Gimpo Terminal. The ship does not operate on the Han River because the Seoul city government rejected the business due to potential environmental hazards.
Seoul had worried that, if the canal was to connect the Han River, dredging would change water flows, damaging the riverbed and threatening the safety of more than a dozen viaducts built on it. The city was also concerned that the changes would destroy the biodiversity of the Ramsar wetlands of the Han River's Bamseom Island.
The city had already stopped the ship's weekend-only cruise course linking Seoul's Yeouido and Deokjeok Island in the West Sea that had operated from 2012 to 2014.
Gyeongin canal also had a financial problem. Since it opened in May 2012 until last May, it has carried 4.78 million tons of freight and 850,000 passengers, which met just 8.4 percent and 20 percent of business goals, respectively, according to JoongAng Ilbo. The project is also still 1.74 trillion won short of return on investment.
It costs 8 billion a year to manage the canal, which earns just several million won a month from berthing fees. The big picture painted by former President Lee Myung-bak ahead of the first shoveling ― 25,000 new jobs and a 3 trillion won economic boost ― is a far-fetched dream.
Former president Lee Myung-bak, left, waves to cruise passengers at Gyeongin Harbor in Incheon during the opening ceremony of the Gyeongin Ara Waterway, on May 25, 2012. Korea Times file
Gyeongin canal made headlines last Friday when environmental activists argued that politicians in Seoul and Incheon tried to resuscitate the largely vapid infrastructure to boost their political image ― using Incheon athletes at the 100th National Sports Festival in Seoul from Oct. 4.
The activists were concerned that Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party (whose constituency is in Incheon) and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon planned to send about 80 athletes on a ship along the canal to Yeouido dock, from where they could travel to Seoul's Jamsil Sports Complex for the festival's opening ceremony. It was the first time a ship had travelled from Gyeongin waterway to Han River.
The activists protested at the dock that the itinerary was a political scheme that ignored the canal's poor feasibility with environmental hazards to promote the sports festival.
According to the protesters, the Incheon athletes' canal trip was a forced event that disregarded potential environmental hazards if the waterway linked the Han River. The protesters demanded the canal's infrastructural role be abandoned and that the canal should not be used for a political show.
The activists said the canal had been a failure and the environment ministry had set up a committee to re-evaluate the waterway's use as a canal. Yet the politicians had initiated the gimmick for the sports event and their political careers ― especially ahead of National Assembly elections in April 2020.
The activists said Japan was using the Tokyo Olympics to veil its responsibility for the aftermath of the Fukushima tragedy, and Rep. Song and Park's initiative was no different.
Environmental activists at Yeouido dock, Oct. 4, condemn Rep. Song Young-gil and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon for sending Incheon-based athletes participating in the 100th National Sports Festival to Gyeongin Ara Waterway before the waterway's environmental feasibility was confirmed. Yonhap
In 2018, a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport committee criticized aspects of the Gyeongin canal planning, saying the committee would reconsider whether the canal should continue with its nominal role.
One committee member from the Ministry of Environment told JongAng Ilbo the committee has already concluded that the waterway could no longer be kept as a canal and instead become a tourism venue for water sports.
But some experts still want the waterway be kept as a canal. The Incheon city government said it was suggesting to Seoul that the canal could be used for more cruises by connecting Seoul to Incheon and islands in the West Sea. Specialists in the logistics industry said it was too early to abandon the canal.