[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province is preparing and implementing an action plan to improve air quality, including fine dust, in the West Coast area in collaboration with Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City.
According to the province on the 14th, the action plan was prepared as part of the 'West Coast Area Ultra-wide Area Air Quality Improvement Project Joint Cooperation' memorandum of understanding signed by the three metropolitan cities and provinces in February.
The West Coast Area Ultra-wide Area Air Quality Improvement Project is being promoted with Chungnam as the lead and Gyeonggi Province and Incheon City participating, following the selection result of the ultra-wide area cooperation project discovery support project hosted by the National Balanced Development Committee in December last year.
With the vision of "Establishing a seamless air pollution management cooperation belt," this project aims to ▲reduce ultra-wide area air pollution emissions ▲accumulate basic data and establish a management system for the West Coast area ▲establish an ultra-wide area management system for the West Coast area.
The detailed action plan consists of 12 projects, with a total budget of 41.215 billion KRW.
The action plan includes ▲operation of a joint map cooperation team among the three cities and provinces for emission sources in the West Coast area ▲intensive crackdown on illegal air pollution activities using 3D LiDAR during the seasonal management period ▲support and operation of IoT installation for small-scale emission sources ▲designation of roads for fine dust intensive management ▲suppression of scattered dust on roads around ports and industrial complexes during the seasonal management period, with a budget of 3.265 billion KRW allocated to these projects.
Additionally, 17.8 billion KRW will be invested in two projects including joint inspection and survey of emission sources in island areas and improvement of the island area household waste collection and disposal system, and 5.6 billion KRW will be invested in establishing an integrated air pollution analysis and management system and enhancing air quality monitoring systems using new technologies.
To promote each project, the three cities and provinces plan to request project funding from the Balanced Development Committee and the Ministry of Environment within this month and hold a council to prepare implementation measures.
In particular, next year, non-budget projects such as fine dust scanning LiDAR port monitoring involving the National Institute of Environmental Research and Pyeongtaek Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office during the seasonal management period, designation and operation of fine dust intensive management roads in collaboration between Gyeonggi and Incheon, and joint inspections of air pollution emission sources will be prioritized.
An Jae-su, Director of the Blue Sky Planning Division of the province, said, "The West Coast Area Ultra-wide Area Air Quality Improvement Project is a project for a new future of clear air, blue skies, and a healthy Republic of Korea," adding, "The province will focus on securing government budgets based on the action plan to establish a foundation for promotion and ensure that the project proceeds smoothly according to the roadmap."
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