Gov't to resume work on Gyeongin canal project

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government has decided to resume the
construction of Gyeongin canal linking the Han River and the Yellow Sea nearly
five years after it was stopped by the stiff opposition of environmentalists,
officials said Monday.

The construction of the 18-kilometer waterway will be restarted from March with
the aim of completing it by 2011, as it turned to be economically feasible, said
the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
The ministry predicts that the canal will cost 2.25 trillion won (US$1.7 billion)
and generate 3 trillion won in additional income, creating 25,000 jobs.
Work on the canal began in 200l, with the blueprint calling for a
18-kilometer-long waterway that is 80 meters wide and with an average depth of 6
meters to allow the movement of barges and boats.
However, environmentalists' fierce opposition forced the government to suspend it
in 2003. Local environmentalists claim that water conditions in the canal could
deteriorate if sewage from the Han flowed into it, wreaking havoc with the eco
system.
At present, the 3.8-kilometer section of the canal remains to be dug near the Han
River, with the canal running roughly parallel to the Incheon International
Airport Expressway.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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