By Ukraine Rebuild News Staff
Korea Water Resources Corp, the South Korean conglomerate that has agreed to help rebuild Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam, has also been chosen to design a master plan for restoration and creation of a ‘smart city’ in Uman, central Ukraine, Business Korea reported, without saying where it got the information.
The project, supported by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportvia its Smart City Korea program, is meant to prepare for further works to restore transportation, infrastructure, housing in Uman and develop a plan to create a ‘smart city’ in after the war. The deadline for the design is April 2024.
“We plan to support systematic project promotion in the postwar recovery process in the future,” the South Korean government agency said on June 22 in announcing the project in Uman, a city with a 2022 population of around 82,000 that serves as a base for manufacturing optical and agricultural equipment.
Although the budget for the Uman project is limited, at an estimated 500 million Korean won ($377,500), it further cements K-Water’s positioning as an experienced contractor in Ukraine ahead of expected major reconstruction projects and likely gives the company an edge in further works in Uman.
K-Water signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukrhydroenergo in late July, agreeing to “expedite implementation measures” to rebuild the Kakhovka dam, which was destroyed in early June, unleashing 18 cubic kilometers of water across a swathe of southern Ukraine. The company said it also discussed further ways to cooperate on Ukrainian reconstruction when South Korean President Yun Suk Yeol visited Ukraine in July, along with a business delegation.
Uman, known as a pilgrimage site for Hasidic Jews visiting the burial site of respected rabbi Reb Machman Breslover, has been repeatedly hit by Russian missile strikes, including 20 strikes at one in a May 23 attack.
