By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo made it clear Monday that the administration has discarded its plan to build a cross-country canal.
He brushed off the construction minister's recent pledge to restart the project as an ``individual opinion.''
``The government has not discussed the canal project since President Lee Myung-bak said on June 19 that he would suspend it,'' Han said, answering lawmakers' questions at the National Assembly. ``As far as I know, the project has come to an end and we have no plan to discuss it.''
Last week, Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung Jong-hwan hinted that the government may resume plans to build the cross-country canal, triggering a backlash from opposition parties and environmental groups.
If there is public consensus, ``we can restart the waterway project,'' Chung told a National Assembly committee.
Han said Chung's remarks do not represent the government official stance on the issue.
``As a minister, Chung can express his opinions about state policies, but he did so at the wrong place and wrong time,'' Han said. ``I want to reaffirm that the government has no intention of pushing ahead with the canal project. It was Chung's personal opinion.''
The Great Canal Project was one of President Lee's signature economic pledges during the campaign, but Lee said he would discard it if ``the public opposes'' in June, when his public approval rating dropped below 20 percent.
However, reports said government agencies have secretly been pushing the waterway project as part of efforts to boost the sluggish construction industry.
The project envisions linking Korean rivers with canals, creating a 2,100-kilometer waterway from the southern city of Busan to Seoul for cargo transportation.
The government earlier said the completed waterway would create more than 700,000 new jobs and help lower cargo-transport costs around the country. The waterways would also help develop rural areas and create new tourist destinations, boosting the country's tourism industry, it said.