A Total of 66.5 Billion Won Invested in Yeongju and Sangmang 2 Districts
Strengthening Infrastructure to Respond to Extreme Rainfall
Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province has once again been selected for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's "2026 Disaster Risk Area Maintenance Project" following last year's selection.
This year, two projects were chosen: the Yeongju District Comprehensive Flood Damage Living Area Maintenance Project and the Sangmang 2 Natural Disaster Risk Improvement District Maintenance Project. The total project cost amounts to 66.5 billion won, including 43.3 billion won in national and provincial funding.
A total of 49.6 billion won will be invested in the Yeongju District. A new 2.1-kilometer drainage culvert will be constructed to quickly channel rainwater into the Seocheon River during heavy rainfall in the old downtown areas of Yeongju-dong and Hyucheon-dong. In addition, 4.5 kilometers of stormwater pipes and 2.4 kilometers of slopes will be improved. For the Sangmang 2 District, 16.9 billion won will be used to improve 5.7 kilometers of small streams in the Danun Village area of Sangmang-dong.
Status Map of the Yeongju District Comprehensive Flood Damage Prevention and Living Area Improvement Project.
This maintenance project is a measure to protect citizens' lives and property from increasingly frequent extreme rainfall events. In particular, national funding will be used to implement comprehensive and systematic improvements in the old downtown area, which suffered damage from the worst flooding in 20 years in 2023.
To secure project selection, Yeongju City initiated a comprehensive natural disaster reduction planning service in 2022 and finalized the plan in April last year after review and confirmation by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. The city then conducted a feasibility study and developed a basic plan before applying for the project in March this year. Yeongju City diligently followed all procedures, including preliminary consulting by North Gyeongsang Province and a presentation review by central government agencies. Last month, Acting Mayor Yoo Jungkeun personally visited the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to explain the necessity of the project, actively responding to achieve this final result.
Last year, the Gaheung 1 District and Sangmang District (with a total project cost of 66 billion won) were also selected through the same public offering, and basic implementation and design services are currently underway, with construction scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027.
Acting Mayor Yoo Jungkeun stated, "Our citizens suffered great hardship due to the flooding two years ago. With this consecutive selection, we have created a groundbreaking opportunity to build a safer Yeongju City protected from natural disasters. We will continue to respond to the climate crisis by implementing maintenance projects step by step in accordance with our comprehensive plan."
Including Yeongju, a total of nine local governments in North Gyeongsang Province were selected for this disaster risk area maintenance project. The selected districts will receive not only national and provincial funding but also administrative support such as preliminary design reviews under the Natural Disaster Countermeasures Act and on-site consulting by private experts.
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