Mayor Baek Gyeong-hyeon: "Inchangcheon, a River Reviving and Breathing Again... Targeting Construction Start in July"

Guri City Passes Second-Stage Central Investment Review
and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Plan Conformity Review
for Inchangcheon Ecological Stream Restoration Project

The city of Guri (Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun) announced that the Inchangcheon Ecological Stream Restoration Project passed both the second-stage review of the Local Finance Investment Review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 4th and the conformity review of the aquatic ecosystem restoration plan by the Ministry of Environment.

Planned site for the Inchangcheon Ecological Stream Construction Project in Guri City. Provided by Guri City.

The Inchangcheon Ecological Stream Restoration Project targets a total length of 810 meters from Doldari Park in Sutaek-dong to the confluence with Wangsukcheon. The project involves demolishing the aging covered concrete artificial structures and creating water-friendly facilities such as ecological waterways and walking trails. The total project cost is 47.5 billion KRW, with 50% supported by provincial funds and 35% by the Hangang River Basin Fund.

Originally, this project was promoted by Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun during his 6th term to restore the stream, which once flowed through the city but had been covered with concrete, transforming the bleak urban area into a romantic city. However, the project was canceled during the 7th term.

After Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun took office again in the 8th term, the project was reselected as a campaign pledge. Through close consultation and review with higher authorities, the Ministry of Environment approved the aquatic ecosystem restoration plan in August 2023, and in September of the same year, Gyeonggi Province selected it as a new ecological stream restoration project.

In March 2024, the project conditionally passed the first stage of the central investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. After completing the detailed design, based on these efforts, it has now passed both the second-stage review and the conformity review of the aquatic ecosystem restoration plan by the Ministry of Environment.

A Guri city official stated, “Currently, the technical review by the Hangang River Basin Environmental Office is in its final stage following the completion of the detailed design. Having passed both the second-stage central investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the conformity review of the aquatic ecosystem restoration plan by the Ministry of Environment, we are accelerating the project promotion, aiming to promptly complete all administrative procedures such as the ecological stream restoration review by Gyeonggi Province and striving diligently for a July groundbreaking.”

Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun of Guri said, “Restoring Inchangcheon as an ecological stream and maintaining it as a clear stream will provide various benefits to citizens and small business owners, as well as pass on a beautiful stream where ecosystems coexist to future generations. We will actively work toward an early groundbreaking to transform Inchangcheon into a healthy, living stream that offers citizens a place for rest and walking as an eco-friendly ecological stream.”