The government will push to exempt a 1 trillion won preliminary feasibility study for a water infrastructure expansion project to supply water to the southwest region semiconductor industrial complex.
According to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment on the 10th, the government is expected to deliberate and decide as early as this month at a Cabinet meeting on a proposal to exempt the southwest region semiconductor complex water infrastructure expansion project from a preliminary feasibility study. The project is divided into raising the Dongbok Dam by 15 meters, installing a water conveyance pipeline, and installing a wastewater reuse facility at Gwangju No. 1 Sewage Treatment Plant. The final exemption will be confirmed after review by the Ministry of Planning and Budget's Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee.
The total project cost is expected to far exceed 1 trillion won. Initially, raising the Dongbok Dam by 15 meters was expected to cost about 465 billion won, but an internal review estimated the project cost would increase significantly. It was also found that installing the water conveyance pipeline would require more than 500 billion won.
Of the 650,000 tons of water needed for the southwest region semiconductor complex (excluding wastewater reuse), the management authority for the Dongbok Dam, which will handle 300,000 tons, will shift from the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City to the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water). Switching to a state-led approach would shorten the dam-raising construction period from 10 years to 3 years and 11 months. The cost-sharing ratio among the central government and the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water), among others, will be finalized after further discussions.