Invest KOREA

South Korea plans to spend 300 billion won (US$267 million) in the next 10 years to acquire know-how to build eco-friendly "green ships," the government said Thursday.

   The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said developing green technology is necessary because the United Nations International Maritime Organization is pushing to implement greenhouse emission reduction measures for ships after 2013.

   "If new restrictions are adopted, existing ships that are not energy efficient and release large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere may be pushed out of operations," it said.

   Such a move could spur demand for new ships, with the global market for cleaner vessels to reach at least 80 trillion won in 2015.

   The ministry said that both the European Union and Japan have started to eye green ship building since the 1990s by looking into the development of so-called zero emission ships and the super eco-ship project.

   South Korean shipyards have been slow to enter this field, mainly because they thought the market was not large enough to warrant their attention.

   Developing new technology could also help local companies to widen their technological edge vis-a-vis China.

   Of the total to be spent, up till 2020, 194.0 billion won will come from the government with the rest to be created by the private sector, the ministry said.

Source: Yonhap News (Feb. 24, 2011)