The government is set to introduce new waterways as part of its project to refurbish the country’s four major rivers, hoping to calm much-heated controversy over wilderness protection.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said Wednesday it will open to the public the 16 restored reservoirs in stages until November, starting with Sejong Reservoir on Saturday in the Geum River basin, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul.

The ministry is wrapping up work on the main courses of the four rivers ― the Han River, Geum River, Nakdong River and Yeongsan River, it said in a statement.

“Residents will be able to access the rivers and facilities around there for walking, biking, exercises, camping and other leisure sports,” the ministry said.

Kicked off in July 2009, the development of the rivers is one of key programs cherished by President Lee Myung-bak for his “green growth” vision, which aims to shore up water security, flood control and ecosystem dynamics in the regions while boosting local economy and creating jobs.

The government has been pumping more than 22 trillion won ($19.1 billion) into the five-year mammoth project involving revamping more than 900 kilometers of tributary streams and nearby wetlands and setting up natural disaster prevention facilities.

“It is fortunate that the government has been building four times as many anti-disaster facilities as the existing ones through the project, preparing for a rainstorm that might come once in 200 years,” Lee said in August.

“Because of this project, many waterside areas can forestall recurrent flood damage.”

But the plan has ignited controversy whether it is designed to reserve the environment or rather destroy it.

Civic groups claimed that a massive dredging of the riverbed, which aims to make waterways deeper, let some places be even more vulnerable to flooding. Some scholars and experts said the project is endangering endemic species and livelihoods of local fishermen, taking away nests from migratory birds and heaping pressure on the government budget.

The National Institute of Environmental Research also found in a report that water quality of some areas along the Nakdong River has deteriorated since the project was initiated compared with 2006.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)