Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) has vowed to provide clean water to the public by launching a smart water management system supported by advanced information and communications technology from the beginning of this year.
"As the only government-owned company in charge of controlling water resources based on a new system, we'll do our best to help ensure people are satisfied," said K-water CEO Choi Gye-woon.
The former Incheon National University professor said he will be at the forefront of an intensive drive to ensure K-water becomes a leader in global water management systems.
"By doing so, we'll be able to create jobs through the development of special technologies," he said. "Our business model for water management is both scientific and forward-looking, and will help us expand our overseas operations in line with government policies."
K-water aims to lead the industry's growth by developing a smart water grid and an integrated water management system, according to Choi. It will also expand its overseas operations to strengthen its international role through close cooperation with foreign water resources organizations, the former professor added.
"We need to always keep the nation and the people in our minds so that K-water can become the top water resources management company in the world. We should manage K-water well so that it will be able to save the people from water-related disasters by protecting their properties."
Indonesia, Peru, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Pakistan and Algeria are partners with Korea in water resource management projects, sharing in Korea’s expertise and experience. As more and more countries suffer from desertification or drought due to climate change, the importance of effective water management and water resources is only growing.
Korea first entered overseas water resource management markets through an official development assistance (ODA) program to help with the Fen River in Shanxi Province, China, in 1994, part of the Yellow River basin. Starting in 2009, Korea expanded its business to include direct investments. As of September 2015, Korea has completed a total of 60 water resource-related projects, including water management and power generation, in 24 other countries. Currently, it is carrying out 14 projects in 12 countries.
At the seventh World Water Forum that took place in Daegu last April, Korea showcased some of its IT-based "smart water management" (SWM) technologies. Today, Korea has hydropower projects in Pakistan, Georgia, the Philippines and the Solomon Islands. The country has also been constructing dams and managing water supplies and drainage channels in India, Iraq, Rwanda, Cambodia and Laos.
The Patrind hydropower plant in Pakistan is Korea’s first overseas investment in the water industry. It's a "build-operate-transfer" (BOT) project under which Korea will build a 150-megawatt hydropower plant, operate and manage it for 30 years and then transfer it to the Pakistani government in September 2043. Korea and Pakistan began the project in 2009. As of September 2015, about 60 percent of the project has been constructed, and it will begin commercial operations in 2017.
South Korea on April 17, 2015, offered a glimpse into what could help the world overcome the problem of water shortage, introducing its information technology-based management of water at the global water forum under way in this southeastern city.
In a special session attended by some 1,300 people, the state-run Korea Water Resources Corp. (K-Water) unveiled its smart water management initiative, which utilizes the country's advanced information communication technology (ICT) to help minimize water leakage.
Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for technological cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) at the headquarters on Feb. 2 to introduce smart water management technology in South Asia.
With an investment of $1.35 million (1.64 billion won), the project is designed to combine K-water’s smart water management technology in four cities in South Asia, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, to reduce the leakage rate, which reaches 40 percent, in the regions, and to efficiently manage water supply facilities. It will also be connected with the ADB’s follow-up development projects in the future.
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