Gyeonggi Province Secures 40.2 Billion Won in State Funding to Significantly Expand Small Stream Maintenance

With Gyeonggi Province securing 40.2 billion won in state funding necessary for small stream maintenance, the maintenance project is expected to be significantly expanded and promoted.

According to Gyeonggi Province on the 27th, as the budget range for small stream maintenance projects eligible for state subsidies under the 2018 government budget finalized in October this year has been determined, Gyeonggi Province has secured 40.2 billion won in state funding, an increase of 12.4 billion won (up 45%) compared to 27.8 billion won in the previous year.

Considering that the nationwide small stream state budget for 2018 amounts to a total of 211.5 billion won, similar to the previous year's budget of 211.6 billion won, the significant increase in Gyeonggi Province's small stream budget is encouraging, according to the province's explanation.

In particular, the state funding budget for small streams is allocated by calculating project amounts for each metropolitan local government based on the achievements of the previous year's project implementation, and new project target sites are determined according to city and province priorities. This is also indicative of the scale of efforts that Gyeonggi Province and cities and counties within the province have invested in small stream maintenance projects.

Moreover, the fact that Gyeonggi Province has secured the largest budget nationwide despite having 2,110 small streams, the seventh largest number in the country, is even more significant.

As a result, the province has secured a total of 80.4 billion won in small stream maintenance project budgets consisting of 40.2 billion won in state funding and 40.2 billion won in local funding, enabling the establishment of project plans by district for a total of 72 small streams across 25 cities and counties including Goyang City to promote maintenance.

Among these, 17 small streams including Singi Stream in Yongin City have been allocated as new projects and are planned to proceed with comprehensive planning as well as detailed design suited to on-site conditions.

An Yong-boong, Director of the Rivers Division at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The expansion of project funding means an increase in the improvement rate of small streams in Gyeonggi Province. By protecting the lives and property of provincial residents, we will move one step closer to a safer Gyeonggi Province." He added, "We will continue to communicate with cities and counties and serve as a bridge between the Ministry of Interior and Safety and cities and counties to promote small stream disaster prevention projects."