Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-water) signed an MOU on a public-private partnership to cooperate on sewage operations in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on May 26 at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul, the company said the next day.
President Choi Gye-woon signed the agreement for K-water, joined by President Lee Keun-po of Hanwha E&C and Sec-Gen. Le Thanh Hai of the Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Committee in a signing ceremony at Plaza Hotel.
Under the MOU, K-water and Hanwha E&C will build a waste water treatment facility in the Tan Nhut-Binh Chanh District with the capacity to handle 300,000 cubic meters of waste water daily.
K-water and Hanwha E&C plan to take charge of the construction of waste water treatment facilities around Vietnam, including three sewage treatment facilities in nearby areas, with the MOU signing as an occasion to bring K-water and Hanwha E&C together to take advantage of the companies’ vast experience in the construction of waste water treatment facilities and water management. President Choi said Vietnam implemented the Private and Public Investment Law in March this year, and K-water and Hanwha E&C have been chosen to undertake the first project since the law was put into place, which is very significant for the two companies, because one is public and the other private.
In the meantime, K-water conducted drills to test for flooding around dams across the country, televising the live events using high-tech IT equipment to three locations including the K-water head office, the Jangheung County Office Situation Room and Jangheung Dam.
The drill was aimed at testing the ability to cope with the heavy floods in the upper streams of Jangheung Dam by controlling the massive rainwater that will flood the dam to protect the lives and properties of the people and minimize damage.
The event was a reenactment of an event that took place Aug. 9, 2011 when heavy rains measuring 250.9 mm pummeled the area where Seomjin Dam is located. The heavy rain was said to be the most in 500 years that threatened the Seomjin River to overflow, forcing residents downstream to evacuate after Seomjin Dam opened all of its gates to prevent an overflow of the dam. Fortunately no human life was lost during the flood.
The Jangheung Dam Flooding Crisis Situation drill’s major purpose was to prepare for unpredictable heavy rains to minimize losses and damage by testing the preparedness for the floods and ensure cooperation among related organizations.
The Central Disaster Rescue Headquarters of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; the Regional Disaster Safety Measures Headquarters of Jangheung County; and Kangjin County of South Jeolla Province, participated in the drill, along with police, fire brigades, military units in the area and damage recovery fire. Altogether 13 of them took part to strengthen the cooperative systems and minimize damage.
The test also included an explanation for residents downstream to flee to during the floods, so that they would know what to do in case another emergency occurred.
Using high-tech equipment, K-water head office drill site, the situation room at the Janghung County and the Jangjung Dam jobsites held video meetings. Through the screen equipment at the disaster areas, the real situations at those disaster stricken areas are relayed live to the situation room and drilling sites in real time, so that quick decisions can be made.
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