By Kim Tae-gyu
Weirs on the country’s four major rivers were unveiled to the general public over the weekend along with a variety of cultural events such as musicals and traditional performances.
The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) said Sunday that the opening of the weirs indicates that the completion of the four-river projects is just around the corner.
“We are almost there as 85 percent of the tasks have already been finished. Work on the main streams of the four rivers will be finished later this year and the remainder will be completed in 2012,” MLTM official Kim Ju-sik said.
“Up until now, we have caused some inconvenience to residents due to the project. But this event shows that we are ready to return the four rivers back to them with added value.”
The four-river scheme involves the Han, Nakdong, Geum and Yeongsan as one of the largest policies of the incumbent Lee Myung-bak administration.
A total of 16 dams and many reservoirs have been built that can store up to 1.3 billion cubic meters of fresh water, which the MLTM expects will help meet the rising demand for water.
Out of the 16 small dams, 11 are open to the public and the remaining five off the Nakdong River will be accessible in the not-so-distant future, according to Kim.
Large-scale dredging operations have also been performed to deepen river bottoms and the MLTM claims that the work is the reason behind relatively little flood damage this year despite a long rainy spell.
This summer’s precipitation was substantially higher than usual and some regions suffered record-high figures. However, the water level of the four rivers was lowered to pose minimum threats to nearby areas.
Beginning in 2008, the government channeled more than 20 trillion won into the major scheme in order to boost the moribund economy in the wake of the unprecedented global financial crisis.
The MLTM is striving to take advantage of its hard-learned experience and know-how in earning dollars through exporting the technology to other countries.
As parts of its efforts, the ministry held an international forum last month and more than 70 experts from 20 countries met in Seoul to explore in detail the four-river program and its positive effects.
The MLTM said that the two-day event, officially named “The International Conference on River Restoration for Green Growth” attracted a great response from the participants.
“After learning how dramatically the four-river project improved the water supply and flood prevention, many were surprised. We expect that we will be able to export our cutting-edge technologies and knowledge down the road,” Kim said.