"Nation's First Restriction on Old Vehicles Entering Incheon Port... Air Quality Agency-Marine Agency MOU"

Asia Economy DB=Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The government is pushing to restrict the entry of old vehicles in the Incheon port area to reduce fine dust.

The Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office and the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office will sign a business agreement on the 27th to reduce fine dust in the Incheon port area.

This agreement is a follow-up measure to the Ministry of Environment-Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries agreement signed in March last year and the Port Air Quality Act implemented from this year. It is significant in that local related organizations will promote detailed cooperative projects to reduce fine dust in the port area.

Ports play a pivotal role in our economy, but they are pointed out as major sources of fine dust due to the entry of ships and cargo trucks and the use of cargo handling equipment. Through this business agreement, a joint cooperation system has been established to effectively implement fine dust reduction measures in the Incheon port area.

The main contents of the business agreement include ▲ mutual sharing of air quality information and analysis results within the Incheon port ▲ establishment and pilot operation of an old vehicle entry restriction system in the Incheon port ▲ priority support for low-emission measures for old vehicles entering the Incheon port.

In particular, the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office will pilot the old vehicle entry restriction system for the first time nationwide. Considering that old vehicles are a major source of fine dust in the port, this measure is expected to play an important role in improving air quality in the Incheon port area.

An official from the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office said, "We plan to build an old vehicle entry control system by receiving data related to old vehicles from the Korea Environment Corporation," adding, "It is not possible to immediately enforce entry restrictions. It is necessary to understand the current status of related industry workers."

The Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office plans to prioritize budget support so that old vehicles entering the Incheon port can be scrapped early or equipped with diesel particulate filters (DPF).

Jung Bok-young, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Air Quality Management Office, said, "I hope this proactive effort at Incheon port will become a model case expanded to ports nationwide."

Hong Jong-wook, head of the Incheon Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office, said, "We will collect opinions from port workers and closely cooperate with related organizations to ensure that no blind spots arise in fine dust reduction measures."