Jeonnam Province Secures 1.5186 Trillion Won in National Funds from Last Year's Central Public Projects

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province announced on the 25th that a total of 432 projects from 35 institutions participated in central government public contests involving the province, cities, and counties last year, securing 1.5186 trillion KRW in national funds.

The total amount was calculated at 2.2988 trillion KRW (province 1.0721 trillion KRW, cities and counties 1.2267 trillion KRW), but after adjusting for overlapping items amounting to 780.2 billion KRW across 62 projects including the Fishing Village New Deal 300, the actual national fund secured was confirmed to be 1.5186 trillion KRW.

This survey was conducted to systematically analyze the public contest projects promoted by the province and cities/counties with the goal of realizing Jeonnam Province’s new millennium vision, the ‘Clean Jeonnam Blue Economy,’ actively discovering specialized projects by ministry and project type, and securing continuous momentum for promotion.

Major projects include Fishing Village New Deal 300 with 262.5 billion KRW (Shinan-gun and 15 other cities/counties), Urban Regeneration New Deal with 75.8 billion KRW (Suncheon-si and 8 other cities/counties), and Rural New Vitality Plus with 51.1 billion KRW (Muan-gun and 9 other cities/counties). Single projects include Smart Farm Innovation Valley with 58.9 billion KRW (Goheung-gun), Ultra-small Electric Vehicles and Electric Vehicle Platform Construction with 48.3 billion KRW (Yeonggwang-gun), and Demonstration of Core Technologies for Intelligent Low-voltage Current and Hydrogen Production, Storage, and Utilization Technology Development with 41.8 billion KRW (Naju-si).

These projects include many from the three major focus areas selected by Jeonnam Province for concentrated targeting: Clean Jeonnam Blue Economy, community-based living SOC, and hydrogen economy industry, which are expected to revitalize the weakened regional economy and help improve the quality of life for residents.

This year, due to the spread of COVID-19, central government ministry project briefings and workshops were canceled, so Jeonnam Province is strengthening online acquisition activities to prevent difficulties in timely responses to public contest projects caused by lack of information.

In particular, by continuously monitoring central ministries and other provinces, utilizing human networks of related organizations to frequently grasp trends in public contest projects, sharing materials online, and replacing expert consulting on project plans with written formats, management is being maintained.

Kang Sang-gu, Jeonnam Province Budget Officer, said, “Jeonnam Province has achieved remarkable results through collaboration with cities and counties from preparation to evaluation stages of public contest projects,” and added, “This year as well, we will focus provincial government capabilities on realizing the ‘Clean Jeonnam Blue Economy’ through participation in public contest projects linked to national policy directions and Jeonnam Province’s policies.”