The Status and Future Development Direction of the Water Industry in Gyeongsangnam-do Province

Abstract

Objectives : The status of the future development direction of the water industry in Gyeongsangnam-do Province have been explored.Methods : The status of the global and domestic water industry and the local water industry in Gyeongsangnamdo was examined through a simple survey analysis and the utilization of related-statistical data and databases. Also, the water industry development strategies of Gyeongsangnam-do were investigated by considering the status and the regional and industrial-based characteristics of Gyeongsangnam-do.Results and Discussion : The global water industry and markets have constantly been grown. The growth of the global water market was forecasted to slow down a bit due to the recent COVID-19 epidemic. On the other hand, it has promoted investment in new areas such as monitoring viruses in sewage. Although the infrastructure of the domestic water industry is well established, there are several problems such as profit structure by simple facility investment, and the poor financial condition and the lack of technical skills of the water industry-related companies. The supply rate of water and sewage in Gyeongsangnam-do was shown lower than the national average due to many islands and mountainous areas. The number of water industry-related companies was found to be about 1300 and Gyeongsangnam-do has quite a large number of water industry-related companies compared to other provinces. By sector, manufacturing industries that produce water-related components such as valves and pumps accounted for more than 60%. By scale based on the number of employees showed that “less than nine” accounted for more than 60%. More than 86% out of the total number of local water-industry companies did not conduct research and development activities. Many companies suffer from difficulties to develop technologies and pioneer new markets owing to the financial burden and lack of professional manpower. To overcome these difficulties and promote the local water industry, strategies such as creating an environment for water industry promotion, establishing a corporate support system, strengthening domestic and foreign networks, and expanding the scale of the domestic market by creating a new water business and finding additional demand by utilizing local characteristics and industrial advantages.Conclusions : Although there are various problems that need to be solved to develop the water industry in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, the Korean government is making efforts to develop the water industry these days. It is necessary to establish and implement effective development strategies and policies for promoting the local water industry in Gyeongsangnam-do Province.