[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] The Ministry of Environment will begin accepting applications from the 9th to select target areas for the 'Smart Green City Project,' which aims to enhance urban climate change resilience and promote the green transformation of living spaces.
The Smart Green City Project is a flagship initiative for 'restoring urban green ecosystems,' one of the eight key tasks announced in the Green New Deal last July. It aims to realize sustainable environmental cities in response to climate and environmental crises.
The application period will last about 80 days. After the deadline on November 30, a written, on-site, and comprehensive evaluation will be conducted, and by the end of December, 25 regions proposing excellent customized climate response and environmental improvement plans will be selected.
The Smart Green City Project is scheduled to be implemented over two years starting next year, with a total project scale of approximately 290 billion KRW. Of this, 170 billion KRW (60%) will be supported by the national treasury, and 120 billion KRW (40% matching) will be provided by local governments.
When establishing project plans, local governments must diagnose regional climate and environmental conditions and spatially and organically link multiple projects among the ten project types, presenting package environmental improvement solutions tailored to regional characteristics. The ten project types are ▲Climate Resilience ▲Water Circulation ▲Water Safety and Security ▲Future Vehicles ▲Resource Circulation ▲Ecological Restoration ▲Ecological Rest ▲Clean Air ▲Environmental Education ▲Living Environment.
The 25 selected regions will be divided into 20 'Problem-Solving' and 5 'Comprehensive Leading' types, considering project objectives and budget scale.
The Problem-Solving type aims to discover highly impactful ideas at the village level by combining two or more projects to address urban climate and environmental issues. The total project cost per region will be up to 10 billion KRW over two years, with 6 billion KRW from the national government and 4 billion KRW from local governments.
The Comprehensive Leading type combines three or more projects targeting villages or larger areas, aiming not only to solve climate and environmental problems but also to discover representative cases for proactive green transformation of urban spaces. The total project cost per region will be up to 16.7 billion KRW over two years, with 10 billion KRW supported by the national government and 6.7 billion KRW by local governments.
The Ministry of Environment will operate a Smart Green City Support Group during the application period to provide ongoing consultation to local governments in preparing their project plans. This will further enhance the feasibility and expertise of the projects.
Detailed information about the project application and support group can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Environment Institute.
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