Related organizations will gather in one place to discuss measures to revitalize the function of the Ara Waterway. On the 3rd, Incheon City announced that it will hold a meeting of related organizations to revitalize the function of the Ara Waterway at the main conference room of Ara Tower in Gyeongin Port.
This meeting was prepared to discuss follow-up measures for "Activation of waterborne vessel operation on the Gyeongin Ara Waterway~Han River and expansion of infrastructure for restoring the West Sea waterway," one of the 10 joint tasks in the "Incheon-Seoul-Gyeonggi business agreement for cooperation in the metropolitan area joint living zone" signed on the 11th of last month.
The meeting will be attended by related organizations operating the Gyeongin Ara Waterway, including Incheon City, Seoul City, Gyeonggi Province, the Ministry of Environment, Han River Basin Environmental Office, K-water, and the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, to share the progress of each organization and discuss ways to revitalize the function of the Ara Waterway.
The cruise ships that used to travel between Yeouido and Deokjeokdo via the Gyeongin Ara Waterway stopped operating in 2014, but since April of this year, Hyundai Marine Leisure has been operating two cruise routes: Gimpo Terminal~Yeouido and Gimpo Terminal~Sicheon Naru.
If vessel operations connecting West Sea Islands~Ara Waterway~Han River are revitalized, it is expected to create jobs and revitalize the local economy through the establishment of tourism and transportation infrastructure, as well as expand fishery product transportation routes by improving residential conditions and accessibility to the West Sea islands.
Additionally, by designating the Ara Waterway section as a waterfront district in the basic river plan and installing waterfront facilities, it is expected to establish itself as a representative cultural, tourism, and leisure complex space in the metropolitan area.
The scene of opening the Ara Hangang Lock to enter the Gyeongin Ara Waterway from the Han River [Asia Economy archive photo]
An official from Incheon City said, "We are conducting a 'Study on Activating Island Tourism in Preparation for Connecting the Han River~Ara Waterway~Deokjeokdo Waterway' to welcome tourists flowing into Incheon through the Ara Waterway," adding, "We will continuously cooperate with Seoul, Gyeonggi, and related organizations to pioneer a maritime tourism Silk Road."
Meanwhile, regarding the "Study on Improvement Measures for the Ara Waterway Function" being conducted by the Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements, Incheon City visited the Ministry of Environment last month and requested to maintain the main waterway function of the Ara Waterway to activate water tourism by connecting the West Sea Islands~Han River sea route, and to create waterfront and cultural spaces such as building a theme park around Arabit Island.
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