Gwangju City Selects Samgeo-dong, Gwangsan-gu as Candidate Site for Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility

Site Selection Committee Announces Rankings After Expert Agency Review
Final Site to Be Determined Following Ministry of Environment Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment

The area around Samgeo-dong, Gwangsan-gu, selected as the top candidate site for the Gwangju Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility. Provided by Gwangju City

Samgeo-dong in Gwangsan-gu has been selected as the top candidate site for the Gwangju Metropolitan Resource Recovery Facility.

On the afternoon of the 23rd, the City of Gwangju held the 19th meeting of the Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee and confirmed the area of Samgeo-dong, Gwangsan-gu (83,700㎡) as the first-priority candidate based on the results of the feasibility study.

The Gwangju Resource Recovery Facility Site Selection Committee, established under the Waste Management Facility Promotion Act, reviewed four candidate sites (Seochang in Seo-gu, Dongsan, Samgeo, and Jipyeong in Gwangsan-gu) through on-site inspections and evaluations by professional institutions.

The committee finalized the ranking of candidate sites after receiving professional evaluations on 23 items across five categories?location, social, environmental, technical, and economic conditions?followed by the committee's own verification.

The Samgeo-dong site (83,700㎡), selected as the top candidate, was rated higher than other sites for several reasons: it is a management area rather than a development-restricted zone, which could shorten administrative procedures such as permits by one to two years; it is adjacent to an industrial complex that can utilize the incineration heat generated by the resource recovery process; and a four-lane road runs along the site boundary, providing good accessibility and entry conditions.

Moving forward, the committee will announce the feasibility study process and results on the Gwangju City website, city bulletin, and daily newspapers in accordance with the Waste Management Facility Promotion Act. Residents will be able to review the information and submit their opinions. Once the Ministry of Environment completes the strategic environmental impact assessment, the final site for the resource recovery facility will be confirmed through an official notice.

Choi Jaewan, chairperson of the Site Selection Committee, said, "The first and second public offerings were unsuccessful due to unmet application requirements and withdrawals, but the third introduced a new approach where districts responsible for municipal waste applied first, followed by the city’s project implementation. This allowed us to identify candidate sites. The committee will continue to make every effort until the final site is confirmed."

Jung Hyunyun, Director of the Climate and Environment Bureau, stated, "The resource recovery facility is essential for citizens, so we ask for the understanding and cooperation of local residents as we proceed with the remaining administrative procedures until the final site is determined."

Meanwhile, the City of Gwangju has determined that the construction of a metropolitan resource recovery facility is necessary to prepare for the ban on direct landfilling of municipal waste by 2030. Two previous public offerings since last year were unsuccessful. However, in August, the city adopted a new method?“district application first, city project implementation after”?receiving applications from four candidate sites, which were evaluated by professional institutions to finalize the site rankings.