The Battle for National Funding in the 8th Local Government Term Begins... Lee Gang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, Goes 'All In' Requesting Support for Current Projects

Im Gi-geun, Budget General Review Officer, Meets with Choi Sang-dae, 2nd Vice Minister, to Request

Urgent Project 'Yeongilman Cross-Bridge Construction' for Prompt Advancement Proposed

Lee Kang-deok, Mayor of Pohang, meeting with Choi Sang-dae, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Pohang City has begun a 'tug-of-war' battle to secure national funding for the 8th term of the elected administration.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang is taking the lead and is fully committed to securing national funds for the smooth progress of major local projects with the start of the 8th term of the elected administration.

On the 11th, Mayor Lee met with central government officials including Im Gi-geun, Budget General Review Officer, and Choi Sang-dae, 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, to propose Pohang's major pending projects such as the 'Yeongilman Bridge Construction Project,' selected as a core pledge project for the Gyeongbuk region by the new government, and the designation of Pohang as a 'Regional Digital Innovation Hub' related to national tasks.

On that day, Mayor Lee strongly requested national funding support, including reflecting design costs for the prompt promotion of the Yeongilman transversal project and changes to the total project cost of the Pohang-Yeongdeok Expressway, as the Yeongilman Bridge Construction Project has been selected as a core project for the Gyeongbuk region by the new government, gaining momentum for realization.

He also requested the designation of Pohang as a regional digital innovation hub to reduce the digital gap between the metropolitan area and local regions and to promote balanced national development, along with national funding support, in line with the new government's tasks of building the world's best network and accelerating digital innovation.

Regarding the designation of the digital innovation hub, Mayor Lee emphasized that Pohang, transforming into an advanced science city with ICT/SW, bio, secondary batteries, renewable energy, and new materials, is the optimal site as an innovation hub to promote digital convergence.

Meeting with various review officers at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, he explained projects such as △Secondary Battery Manufacturing Platform Construction Project △Public-Private Cooperation Advanced Manufacturing Incubating Center Construction Project △Establishment of a Pohang Branch of the National Central Library △Construction of the East Coast Marine Fisheries Education Center, highlighting Pohang's infrastructure and potential while requesting national funding support.

He then visited various budget departments to propose national funding for future new growth engine projects such as △Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cluster Project △Nano-fab Preprocessing Platform Technology Development △Development of Marine Leisure Equipment and Safety Technology.

As projects to improve citizens' quality of life, he proposed △Construction of Pohang Earthquake Safety Management Research Center △Installation of Buffer Retention Facilities in Pohang Steel Industrial Complex △Nonpoint Pollution Reduction Project at Yeongildae Beach △Sewer Pipeline Maintenance Project △Construction of Local Roads.

Along with this, to leap forward as a hub city of the East Sea, he requested national funding support for △Construction of Pohang Yeongilman Port International Passenger Terminal △Establishment of Marine Bio Medical Demonstration Research Center △Creation of Odo Columnar Joint Exploration Trail in Heunghae △Phase 2 Construction of the Southern Breakwater at Pohang Yeongilman Port.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang said, “Since securing national funding is essential for the successful promotion of major pending projects that will drive regional development, we will do our best, including collaborating with local lawmakers, to ensure that the proposed projects are definitely reflected.”