A pedestrian walkway built above the sewer pipeline constructed by Hansol Paper's environmental business division [Hansol Paper]
A pedestrian walkway built above the sewer pipeline constructed by Hansol Paper's environmental business division [Hansol Paper]

EDCF funds sewer infrastructure in Santo Domingo

Facility to process 20,000 tons daily, serving about 190,000 residents

Overseas environmental portfolio grows after projects in Nicaragua, Azerbaijan and Indonesia

Hansol Paper has completed a large-scale wastewater infrastructure project in Ecuador that took nine years to finish, building 40 kilometers of sewer pipelines and a treatment facility capable of processing 20,000 tons of wastewater per day.

The company said Friday it had wrapped up the environmental infrastructure project in Ecuador's Santo Domingo region, carried out through the government's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) — a policy fund established to support economic and social infrastructure development in developing countries and expand economic cooperation with South Korea. The project aimed to improve water quality and residents' living conditions in Santo Domingo, a region that had long lacked adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure.

Work began in 2017. Hansol Paper constructed 40 kilometers of sewer pipelines along with a treatment facility with a daily capacity of 20,000 tons to collect and process domestic sewage and wastewater generated in the area.

Previously, a shortage of treatment facilities had allowed sewage and wastewater to flow directly into local waterways. The company expects the new facility, once in operation, to reduce pollutants entering rivers and give about 190,000 local residents access to improved wastewater infrastructure.

The project took roughly nine years from launch to completion, delayed particularly by the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the local business environment. Hansol Paper maintained ongoing consultations with the project owner and local authorities throughout the extended timeline to see the work through.

The company has also carried out domestic projects, including the Pyeongtaek Eco Center, a food-waste leachate biogas facility in the Greater Seoul area, a private investment project for the Gimpo wastewater treatment facility, and a sewer rehabilitation project in Geumsan. The Ecuador completion adds to its accumulated experience in designing, building and operating water treatment facilities at home and abroad.

"This project is meaningful in that we were able to bring it to a stable conclusion through close cooperation with relevant agencies despite a range of challenging local conditions," a Hansol Paper official said. "We will continue to expand our environmental infrastructure business at home and abroad, drawing on our accumulated technical expertise and project experience."


hong@heraldcorp.com