Differences in Cost Calculation Standards Emerge Over the Jeonju Metropolitan Incinerator Project Method

The city of Jeonju in North Jeolla Province held a public forum of experts on the method for building the Jeonju metropolitan waste treatment facility, the socalled regional incinerator, but it was pointed out that there are limits to making a simple comparison because the cost calculation standards for publicfinanced projects and private investment projects differ. This forum was held on the 31st at the Korea Traditional Culture Center, where 11 experts from various fields, including environment, finance, and civic groups, attended to review the economic and technical feasibility of the publicfinanced project being pursued by Jeonju City and the private investment project proposed by a private operator. This project, which will process household waste from four cities and counties in the Jeonju area, plans to build a new incineration facility with a capacity of 550 tons per day at the current site in Samcheondong, Wansangu, with a total project cost of 335.3 billion won. A review of the appropriateness of the project plan by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) is currently under way. During the discussion, the main issues were the differences in calculation methods between the publicfinanced project and the private investment project presented by Jeonju City, the facility scale, and whether auxiliary facilities were included. Experts said it is difficult to determine which is superior based only on the costs presented, and suggested that the safety of the technology and responsibility for longterm operation should also be considered together. Jeonju City plans to decide on the project method by reflecting the forum's opinions and the results of the appropriateness review, and has announced that it will make an official announcement on the 2nd.