Seoul: The government is planning to increase the threshold for social overhead capital (SOC) projects requiring preliminary feasibility studies to 100 billion won (US$72.5 million), as announced by the finance ministry. This change would enable projects below this threshold to commence sooner than currently possible.
According to Yonhap News Agency, government-funded infrastructure projects that exceed a total cost of 50 billion won are presently subject to mandatory feasibility studies, a process that can take several months. The proposed adjustment, which still requires parliamentary approval, was revealed in a meeting of economy-related ministers led by Finance Minister Koo Yun-cheol.
Under the new proposal, feasibility reviews for SOC projects would only be necessary if the total project cost is 100 billion won or higher, or if government funding surpasses 50 billion won. This marks the first revision to the system since its inception in 1999.
The government also aims to expedite the spending of this year's 26 trillion-won SOC budget. Additionally, it is considering changes to the evaluation criteria for feasibility studies to encourage balanced regional development. Proposed changes include increasing the importance of evaluation items for projects outside the capital region and potentially overhauling the entire evaluation framework.