Automatic Cost Estimation System for Environmental Impact Assessments Expanded

A system that automatically calculates the costs of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) will be fully expanded. Following the existing EIAs, the scope will now include strategic environmental impact assessments, small-scale environmental impact assessments, and post-environmental impact investigations, allowing for automatic cost estimation across all areas of environmental impact assessment.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on June 21 that it will operate the 'Automatic Cost Estimation System for Environmental Impact Assessments' starting June 22.

Environmental impact assessments are a system for investigating, predicting, and evaluating the environmental effects of development projects in advance. However, until now, project developers have relied on standard labor costs and estimates from similar projects or agencies to determine costs, which required significant time and effort.

This process often resulted in underestimating costs, which could lead to a decline in the quality of environmental impact assessments. Concerns about insufficient fees affecting assessment quality have been consistently raised.

The automatic estimation system allows users to input basic information such as the type of assessment, project scale, and site characteristics. It then applies standard labor costs to automatically calculate the necessary workforce and labor rates for the project.

The ministry first introduced the automatic estimation system in November 2024 for environmental impact assessments and has now expanded its services to include strategic environmental impact assessments, small-scale environmental impact assessments, and post-environmental impact investigations.

The government expects that with accurate cost estimation, there will be an increase in personnel for field investigations and analyses, ultimately improving the quality and reliability of environmental impact assessments.

The system is linked to the Environmental Impact Assessment Information Support System (EIASS) and engineering cost estimation services, making it accessible to everyone.

Lee Chae-eun, Director of the Ministry's Nature Conservation Bureau, stated, "With the expansion of the automatic estimation system, it has become easier to determine appropriate costs across all areas of environmental impact assessments. We will continue to improve the system to ensure that environmental impact assessments are conducted based on fair compensation."