[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will renovate 59 vacant houses abandoned in urban areas this year into spaces for local residents, such as parking lots or vegetable gardens.
The project targets vacant houses (houses unoccupied for over one year) as defined by the "Special Act on the Maintenance of Vacant Houses and Small-scale Housing," selected from 12 cities and counties including Dongducheon-si.
The province will invest a total of 1.024 billion KRW by the end of the year to demolish the houses and repurpose the land as public parking lots. In return, vacant house owners will receive up to 30 million KRW in demolition cost support.
The province plans for the created parking lots to be managed by the local governments for more than two years and made available free of charge to nearby residents. After the contract period of over two years ends, vacant house owners (landowners) can reuse the land for their desired purposes.
Additionally, the province will directly purchase vacant houses to utilize them as rental housing and child care centers, conducting pilot projects in Pyeongtaek and Dongducheon in August. As of the end of last year, there are 1,650 vacant houses in urban areas within the province.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
