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Expansion of the Separate Sewer System Project Across All Areas of Seo-gu, Busan

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Busan Metropolitan City (Acting Mayor Kim Kyung-duk) announced that it has secured the foundation for project implementation after receiving a feasibility approval for promoting the “Dongdaesin–Seodaesin Treatment District Sewer Pipeline Improvement Project” through a private investment approach.

Since the 1990s, the city has actively promoted projects to establish a separate sewer system that separates stormwater and wastewater—discharging stormwater into rivers or the sea and treating wastewater at sewage treatment plants before discharge.

Currently, approximately 75 percent of the entire Busan area has been equipped with a separate sewer system. During project implementation, small households capable of connecting to the system were supported with septic tank closure (removal) and connection to public sewer pipelines.

As a result, there have been notable improvements in the overall living environment, including reduced odors and improved water quality in major rivers such as the Nakdong River, Suyeong River, and Oncheoncheon Stream.

However, older downtown areas where covered streams flow still show relatively low coverage rates of the separate sewer system, and the need for improvements has been consistently raised. At the same time, rising construction and labor costs have increased financial burdens, making project implementation more challenging.

In response, the city has explored stable implementation measures for the project, including the introduction of the Build-Transfer-Lease (BTL) model utilizing private financial resources alongside public funding.

The Dongdaesin–Seodaesin treatment district includes major tourist attractions such as Nampo-dong and Jagalchi Market, as well as large medical facilities including Busan National University Hospital and Dong-A University Hospital. Despite the high volume of tourists and visitors, the area has a low installation rate of the separate sewer system, making improvements urgently needed.

To expand installation in this area, the city has completed the design for the “Sewer Pipeline New Construction (Expansion) Project (Bosucheon Area)” and is making efforts to have it selected as a new nationally funded project.

For the remaining areas of the Dongdaesin–Seodaesin treatment district not included in the Bosucheon project, the city reviewed the feasibility of adopting a private investment approach to reduce financial burdens and accelerate project implementation.

The city commissioned the Busan Research Institute Public Investment Management Center to assess the feasibility of the “Dongdaesin–Seodaesin Treatment District Sewer Pipeline BTL Project,” and subsequently secured a feasibility approval in the private investment project evaluation conducted by KDI PIMAC.

Busan Metropolitan City plans to expand the separate sewer system project across all areas of Seo-gu, investing approximately KRW 132.7 billion, with the goal of completing improvements by 2035.

Lee Byung-seok, Assistant Mayor of Environmental Water Policy Office, stated, “We will enhance project efficiency by pursuing the separate sewer system improvement project through both publicly funded and private investment (BTL) methods in parallel, and will do our utmost to rapidly increase the coverage rate of the separate sewer system across Busan.”