[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] Asphalt and ready-mixed concrete manufacturer SG announced on the 28th that it has been selected for and signed a contract for the Ministry of Environment's support project, "Commercialization of Clean Air Green New Business Environmental Facilities," as part of the government's Green New Deal policy.
The Green New Deal asphalt eco-friendly project is a commercialization support project for asphalt eco-friendly facilities aimed at removing specific air hazardous substances, including first-class carcinogens, and odors, managed by the Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute. The project is conducted with government subsidies and private sector contributions each accounting for 50%.
SG's asphalt eco-friendly facility EGR+ (Exhaust Gas Recycling) completed the first domestic patent registration for asphalt eco-friendly facilities in February this year and is the only asphalt eco-friendly facility in Korea that meets the Ministry of Environment's announced emission standards for specific air hazardous substances.
An SG official stated, "Through this Green New Deal project, SG plans to install asphalt eco-friendly facilities at its asphalt plant located in Chungju, Chungbuk," adding, "Currently, we are negotiating contracts for eco-friendly facilities with a total of eight asphalt companies, including five in the metropolitan area and three in the Chungcheong region."
He continued, "This Green New Deal project will play a role in accelerating the nationwide distribution of asphalt eco-friendly facilities."
The Ministry of Environment has strengthened emission standards for specific air hazardous substances starting this year, and administrative measures such as factory closures will be imposed on asphalt plants exceeding emission limits. Therefore, the installation of asphalt eco-friendly facilities is no longer optional but essential.
Currently, there are approximately 550 asphalt plants nationwide, with about 800 asphalt plants in operation. The market size for asphalt eco-friendly facilities is estimated at around 320 billion KRW, with an annual maintenance market size of about 30 billion KRW.
Meanwhile, SG signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) last August with the Korea Testing & Research Institute (KTR) for testing and joint research and development in the fields of hazardous substance and odor reduction generated from asphalt production plants, aiming to discover new companies and expand business.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
