At Last: Seoul-Incheon Canal

18 km-long canal finally to be built for purpose of transporting cargo and preventing floods in regions along the waterway

The stated purpose of building a canal linking Seoul and Incheon varies, as it ranges from the prevention of floods, cutting transportation costs, relieving traffic, culture, added tourism and the economic development of the region, the Ministry of Land, Transport, and Maritime Affairs said recently.
The projected Seoul-Incheon Canal, when completed in 2011, will double as a way to divert water to prevent flood damage in the areas that the Gulpo stream cuts through, a perennial flood area. For 15 days during the rainy season in the summer, the canal will be used to contain the water to prevent flood damages in the upper regions of the Gulpo stream and the remaining 350 days as a canal to transport cargo, improving the quality of water at the same time, the ministry said.
It will be a main channel for Songdo, Cheongna in Incheon, the Gumdan and Gimpo areas, the western sector of Seoul. It will also be a hub of international tourism and logistics linked with the Han River Renaissance of Seoul; Small transport vessels including yachts can sail to the West Sea through the Han River and the canal. Along the canal will be built a bicycle road, promenade walks, and other facilities for the pleasure of the residents and visitors in the areas, the ministry said.
The canal is projected to create some 25,000 jobs, setting off 3 trillion won worth of productivity through a boom in the local economies along the canal. The upper regions of the Gulpo stream such as Gyeyang in Incheon, Bupyeong and the Gimpo areas, perennial flood areas during the rainy season, will no longer sustain flood damage.
During the rainy season, the water level in the Han River rises higher than the off-season, thus, suspending the water from the steams in the upper regions of the Gulpo stream from flowing into the Han. During the flood season, the water level of the Han rises some 4 meters higher than normal. In 1992, the government kicked off a project to build a waterway in the region following a huge flood in July 1987.
The government licensed the project to build a 3.8 km long waterway to connect the Gulpo stream, some 14.2 km long, to the Han River so that water can still flow into the Han even during the rainy season and it can be used as a canal during the rest of the year. But the project has been delayed due to protests raised by environmentalists pointing out that it lacks economic justification.
The Korea Development Institute (KDI) conducted a survey on the plausibility of the canal, which found that it satisfied seven of the eight economic features that the projected canal boasts. In September 2003, the government shelved the canal project, deciding that it needs further study.
The government officially decided to go ahead with the canal project on Dec. 11, 2008 at a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and cancelled its government designation as a private project and designated it as a government project on Dec. 29, 2008. The government decisions were based on a feasibility study conducted by KDI during September and October 2008, which concluded that the project is economically justified and was backed by the support of the residents and legislators from the region. The residents in the region launched a council to push for the canal in 2006 along with city councils in Incheon and Seoul and legislators from Incheon and Seoul urging for the construction of the canal.
The government has included the canal among its public projects as part of its "Green New Deal" policies to overcome the economic crisis in order to give the project an early kick-off.
The outline of the project includes the construction of an additional length of the canal for 3.8 km to be connected to 14.2 km of the flood prevention canal at the Gulpo stream to bring the total length of the projected canal to 18 km. The bed of the canal should be 1.6 meters deeper than the current depth to make it 6.3 meters deep on average.
There will be two terminals for the canal in Incheon and Gimpo; the Incheon terminal will have 2.8 million square meters of space and the Gimpo terminal will have 2 million square meters. The piers at the Incheon terminal will have 14 berths while Gimpo will have 13 berths. nw