Many campaign-pledged local projects to be readjusted

Most of the 105 local projects promised during the presidential campaign last year and pushed forward with by the government are expected to be reconsidered all-out or postponed to the next administration.

A senior government official said Wednesday, “We’ve reviewed campaign promises for local development, to which government budgets will be allocated, and found out that most of local governments don’t even have basic plans and look to the central government to carry out everything. Only a few projects have been proven by feasibility tests or are small enough to be implemented right away.”

Most of construction projects using social overhead capital, which have no basic plans, need four or five years before kicking off, considering preliminary feasibility test, application, approval and implementation plan. During the process, economically infeasible projects will be either scraped or cut down. In addition, even many of economically feasible projects will not likely be launched during the incumbent administration due to time constraints.

Another government official said, “Many of campaign promises for new local development projects may not be able to be started during this administration. This means that the fiscal burden on the current administration will likely decrease. It may be a good news for those who worry about fiscal soundness because of the expected budget of 124 trillion won (108 billion U.S. dollars) necessary for local development projects.”

The Strategy Finance Ministry in charge of budget allocation is in full swing to announce implementation plans for local development promises Friday. The government, which originally planned to make a list of 105 local projects with implementation plans in detail, will limit details of the plans. Instead, it will make a short announcement on locally prioritized projects.