Gyeonggi Province Launches Demand Survey for '2020 Small Business Environment Improvement Project'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province will conduct a demand survey for the '2020 Small Business Environment Improvement Project' targeting small and medium-sized enterprises in the province through September 7.

The 'Small Business Environment Improvement Project' is an initiative promoted in cooperation with cities and counties to resolve various business challenges, consisting of four sectors: ▲infrastructure improvement ▲labor environment improvement ▲knowledge industry center improvement ▲work environment improvement.

First, the 'infrastructure improvement' sector involves improving business-related infrastructure in densely populated small and medium-sized enterprise areas within the province, including road expansion and paving, water and sewage systems, small bridges, security lights, directional signs, and public parking lots.

In the 'labor environment improvement' sector, support is provided to small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises in the province with fewer than 300 employees for the installation and renovation of dormitories, cafeterias, restrooms (including shower facilities and laundry rooms), and rest areas.

The 'knowledge industry center improvement' project aims to support renovation and maintenance of parking lots (including parking equipment), restrooms, and aged machinery facility equipment for knowledge industry centers in the province that have been in operation for more than 10 years after completion.

The 'work environment improvement' sector supports costs for improving work spaces such as floors, ceilings, walls, work tables, ventilation and dust collection devices, and LED lighting for micro-manufacturing enterprises in the province with fewer than 50 employees.

Based on the results of this demand survey, the province plans to conduct on-site investigations in October and undergo review by the 'Gyeonggi Province Enterprise Promotion and Support Measures Deliberation Council' around December, finalizing the target businesses by year-end.

Businesses selected as final support recipients for this improvement project can receive up to 60% of total project costs (30% provincial budget, 30% city and county budget) depending on the sector. However, for micro-enterprises with fewer than 10 employees, the self-funding ratio is lowered by 10%, providing up to 70% of project costs, and the infrastructure improvement sector is fully supported at 100% without self-funding.

Meanwhile, in 2019, a total of 383 projects were selected, providing 5 billion won from the provincial budget and 7 billion won from city and county budgets out of 17 billion won in total project costs. Upon completion of this year's projects, a total of 3,055 businesses and 34,765 employees in Gyeonggi Province will benefit.

Enterprises wishing to pursue the small business environment improvement project can apply through the relevant city and county business support departments.