Seoul boosts support for green growth in developing countries

The government said yesterday it would enlarge the economic development cooperation fund to support green industries in developing countries.

From 2009 to 2012, the government will allocate more money to the EDCF to raise it to 1.7 trillion won ($1.45 billion) from the original plan of 1.2 trillion won, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said.

"We need to support green industries to become new growth engines in developing countries and help them achieve sustainable economic and social growth," the ministry said in a statement.

"The support plan will help Korea join the global efforts to deal with climate change as well," it said.



The government said it will select six green industries - solar energy, wind power, bioengineering, waste water treatment, industrial waste treatment and small hydropower - and actively support them to create new demands in developing countries.

For the three particular industries of solar energy, wind power and bioengineering, the government said it would offer non-interest loans to poor countries and cut interest rates by 0.05 percentage point from 0.1-0.15 percent to other countries.

Korea will also cover the costs for feasibility studies in green growth sectors to help poor countries develop national green growth projects.

If there is a need for a large-scale project, the government will offer a package of support, utilizing the Export-Import Bank of Korea`s green growth finance, the ministry said.

"The support plan will also encourage Korean companies in the green growth sector to make inroads into overseas markets," it said.

Meanwhile, the ministry said Korea has selected the Mekong Delta of Vietnam as the base for its support for green growth industries in the Asian region, as the Asian Development Bank has been actively seeking economic growth of the neighboring six developing countries since 1992. The six countries are China, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)





By Kim Yoon-mi