"Zero Usage for 12 Years"… A 153 Billion Won White Elephant

[Anchor]

In Yeongjong Sky City, Incheon, there is an automated waste transport facility built at a cost of over 150 billion won. It is a system where disposed waste is automatically transported to a collection station. The problem is that it has not been used even once for 12 years.

On-site reporting by reporter Kim Gyu-ri.

[Reporter]

This is a roadside in Yeongjong Sky City, Incheon.

When the dust-covered waterproof tarp is removed, the inlet of the CleanNet system for food waste is revealed.

It was installed a long time ago, but it has never been operated once.

The handle of the general waste CleanNet inlet right next to it is even covered in spider webs, showing how neglected it is.

CleanNet, an automated waste collection facility, is a system where waste put into the inlet is automatically transported through underground pipelines to a collection station.

When the new town was developed, around 780 waste inlets, 4 collection stations, and 70.4 kilometers of underground pipelines were built in Yeongjong Sky City alone.

However, it has never actually been operated since its completion in 2014.

[Facility Management Official: If water accumulates or a breakdown occurs in (CleanNet), we just repair it and handle the management. Literally. We haven't been able to operate it here for 14 years now.]

Initially, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority planned the CleanNet facility, and the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) constructed it, but who would actually operate it was not decided even by the completion date.

Because it was not an essential facility and due to reasons such as maintenance and repair costs, the district office did not step forward actively, and joint inspections requested by LH about 10 times for the handover were rejected by both the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority and the district office.

After dragging on for 9 years, an agreement was reached in 2023 for the district office to operate it, but this time, LH and the district office have failed to narrow their differences regarding the scope of repair work.

[Jang Jung-gu / External Cooperation Chairperson, Incheon Civil Society Organizations Coalition: It has become a white elephant for over 10 years, and LH, the Economic Zone Authority, and the Yeongjong District Office seem to be shifting the blame to each other. It needs to be made clear who is responsible….]

This is a waste disposal site in an apartment complex.

Although CleanNet inlets are installed, a sign prohibiting use is attached.

There were even residents who did not know whether CleanNet existed in the apartment complex in the first place.

[Resident: It seems there are quite a few if you walk around. I don't know. I just thought it was something like electricity or something.]

Civic groups, including the Incheon Civil Society Organizations Coalition, are demanding that an audit be conducted on all processes of the CleanNet project and those responsible be disciplined.

(Video by Kim Han-gyeol | Video Editing by Choi Hye-ran | Graphics by Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.