The South Korean government will spend billions of dollars this year and the next... to improve the quality of life in the nation, through various infrastructure projects.
Included in that blueprint: planting new forests to help lower fine dust levels.
Kim Ji-yeon reports.
The Ministry of Strategy and Finance says it's going to pump 6-point-3-billion U.S. dollars over this year and next year into Social Overhead Capital projects in ten fields... aimed at creating a safe and clean environment, improving the quality of life... and promoting balanced regional development.
The ten fields include culture and physical health, local tourism, urban regeneration, smart farms and smart factories... and facilities related to renewable energy and lowering levels of fine dust.
The ministry says it aims to build more facilities related to culture and physical health so that people can have such facilities within a 15-minute walk of their home.
It also plans to add virtual reality and augmented reality experience booths in its 19 new state museums... and renovate old science and art museums.
The ministry also says it'll increase the number of camping sites in its state parks.
In residential areas with a high number of elderly people... the ministry says it'll add parking spaces and libraries.
And in commercial areas where local businesses are struggling... the government says it will make startup-related centers to better provide support.
It'll also increase the number of 'New Deal' projects for urban regeneration from the current 68 to 168 by next year.
Some of the projects will be tailored to different regional needs... such as building ICT infrastructure that can improve the livelihoods of farming and fishing villages... and can lead to the development of smart farming.
In order to improve local air quality, the ministry says it's creating seven new forests,... each nearly 65-hundred square-meters in size, to help reduce fine dust levels.
The ministry says it's also building an additional one-thousand-70 charging stations for electric vehicles and 20 new charging stations for hydrogen-powered vehicles by next year.
Last but not least, the ministry says it'll acquire more land to install solar power panels... that'll help create 107 mega-watts of electricity.
Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.