SEOUL, KOREA - The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation said on January 2 its 2014 budget was set at 20.9 trillion won, up 394 billion won during the deliberation process in the National Assembly. But its budget for the new year is down 5.0 percent from the previous year's 22.0 trillion won.

 

Although the overall budget for the ministry was cut, the budget for some items such as urban renewal and other social overhead projects, as well as railroad has been amplified.

 

By each item, railway, roads, water resources, regional and urban development, and city railroad were increased to 198.9 billion won, 95.8 billion won, 31.8 billion won, 13.6 billion won, 13.0 billion won, respectively. For example, the budget for the Samseong-Dongtan express rail service has been set at 22.6 billion won, up 10.6 billion won from 12.0 billion won.

 

For the second-stage projects for Honam (Seoul-Gwangju) and Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) high-speed railways to be open within this year, budget of 1,158.7 billion won and 393.9 billion won will be disbursed.