Incheon - South Korea Wastewater treatment service

In an 80-20 partnership with Samsung Engineering, Veolia Water was chosen by the Incheon municipality in December 2001 to build and operate two wastewater treatment plants. Incheon is the country's third largest city and one of its most important financial and economic centers, after Seoul. The municipal market in South Korea opened only recently to private operators, and Incheon was the first true BTO contract (Build, Transfer, Operate) signed by a municipality there in the water sector. The contract involves the design, financing, construction and operation of two plants on the Mansu and Songdo sites.

In Songdo, the challenge was to solve the problem of insufficient capacity in the existing treatment facilities to handle the growing volume of wastewater. A compact, technologically advanced solution was needed to correspond to the image and goals of the new economic development area. In Mansu, the objective was to increase wastewater treatment capacity and efficiency in response to population growth and increasingly stringent environmental standards. At both sites, the phasing to extend capacity has to be optimized and financing found for the construction work.

• To have the capacity to treat the growing volume of wastewater.
• To comply with the more stringent discharge standards set by the Incheon municipality, in particular concerning phosphorus and nitrogen content (less than 20 mg/l).
• To help give Incheon the image of a city that cares about the environment and is making preparations to apply the new environmental regulations scheduled to take effect in 2008.

New technologies for the Songdo facility

• In the first phase, construction of a plant with a capacity to treat 10,000 cubic meters/day of wastewater (increasing to a final capacity of 30,000 cubic meters/day). Later phases are scheduled to satisfy Incheon's real needs as they develop.
• Use of BiostyrTM filters, a compact biological technology that can handle very high volumes. The technology is particularly appropriate for increasing facility capacity where space is limited, as at Songdo.

Measures specifically for Mansu, with the construction of:

• a wastewater treatment plant with an initial capacity of 70,000 cubic meters/day, or 50% of the final planned capacity
• a wastewater collection system feeding into the new treatment plant.

Financing for the project

The project received no subsidies from the central government, so all financing is assumed by the consortium.