[Financial News] The city of Busan is partnering with the government and public institutions to actively promote the AI transformation (AX) of its water supply sector, including the Myeongjang Water Purification Plant in Dongnae District.
On the morning of the 15th, the city’s Waterworks Business Headquarters announced that it would sign an “AI Transformation (AX) Technology Agreement” with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-Water) at its headquarters meeting room to lead the smart innovation of local waterworks.
Through this agreement, the three organizations will actively collaborate on policy, infrastructure, and technology to apply and spread AI technology in the field of waterworks.
Based on the agreement, the city’s Waterworks Headquarters plans to apply advanced technologies to the Myeongjang Water Purification Plant under its jurisdiction, including real-time process automatic control, big data-based water quality management, AI-driven facility predictive maintenance, intelligent energy management, and intelligent video surveillance.
The application of these advanced technologies is expected to stabilize water supply processes and quality, eliminate human errors, prevent accidents through intelligent video surveillance, and improve energy efficiency, with an anticipated annual reduction of approximately 500 million KRW in electricity costs.
In addition, if these technologies are expanded to all purification plants across the city in accordance with the city’s aging purification plant modernization project, the total annual operating costs are expected to be reduced by over 3 billion KRW.
The city’s Waterworks Business Headquarters is also participating in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s core technology research and development (R&D) project for energy demand management. It aims to apply AI and digital twin-based resource management technology to the Myeongjang Water Purification Plant to promote energy savings in water treatment processes.
Director Kim Byung-gi of the city’s Waterworks Business Headquarters stated, “This agreement is a first step in responding to the government’s policy to foster advanced AI industries while supplying citizens with safer and cleaner tap water.” He added, “Through close collaboration with the government and Korea Water Resources Corporation, we will establish a smart AI purification plant and a safe water pipe management system at the highest level both domestically and internationally.”