After two decades of controversy and two years of construction, the waterway linking Seoul to the West Sea will open Friday, government officials said Wednesday.

The Gyeongin Ara Waterway gives the capital a direct link to the open sea ― at a total cost of 2.24 trillion won ($1.9 billion).

Eighteen kilometers long, 80 meters wide and 6.3 meters deep, it starts at a section of the Han River in Gaehwadong, western Seoul, and meets the sea off Incheon’s Oryudong.

It can accommodate ships with a maximum capacity of 4,000 tons. Two terminals have been built in Incheon and Gimpo.

Officials at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said it would reduce logistics costs, help flood control and boost tourism.

In a joint statement with state-run Korea Water Resources Corp., which led the project, it said: “The waterway will open a new era of sea shipping and greatly boost local tourism and water sports.”

Friday’s opening ceremony will be attended by President Lee Myung-bak, who in 2009 revived the project, which had been suspended for years amid doubts over its economic feasibility and impact on the environment.

During the ceremony, the first ship with 3,096-ton cargo capacity will embark for China’s Qingdao, officials said. Ferry services are also planned, linking Seoul to domestic cities such as Busan and Pohang as well as 10 foreign cities, the officials said.

Although the idea can be traced back hundreds of years, it was former President Roh Tae-woo who first came up with a plan to build a canal between Seoul and Incheon in 1989. Work began in 1992 on a limited scale to prevent flooding of Gulpocheon, a stream running from Incheon to part of Gimpo.

However, the project faced a massive pullout of private-sector participants due to the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s and came to a full stop under the administration of President Roh Moo-hyun, which questioned its economic viability.

Lee, who had promised during his presidential election campaign to build a canal stretching the length of Korea, revived the project after a reexamination of the project’s economic value. Construction resumed in 2009 and the waterway opened for a trial run in October 2011.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)