The government plans to launch a commission next month to look into a highly controversial public project to refurbish the country's four major rivers, officials said Friday.

As a trademark of the previous Lee Myung-bak administration, the mega project costing 22 trillion won ($19.5 billion) is aimed at helping prevent floods and promote tourism along the country's four major rivers - the Han, Nakdong, Kum and Yeongsan.

But it has long drawn criticism from civic activists and the opposition party for allegedly causing irreversible environmental damage and other suspected irregularities on the course of the construction of relevant structures.

To resolve suspicions and seek ways to better manage the facilities, the commission involving some 20 government officials and civilian experts will be tasked with a fact-finding survey and the assessment of the project, according to the Prime Minister's secretariat.

Under the commission, a separate task force will be established and its 80 experts will look into whether the facilities are safe and effective enough in the four aspects of water resources, the environment, agriculture and tourism, the officials said.

Pointing to President Park Geun-hye's earlier instruction of conducting a thorough review of the project, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won called for securing fairness in a series of the commission's probe process, according to the officials.

Earlier this week, the main opposition Democratic Party launched a fact-finding committee to look into alleged irregularities surrounding the project.

The prosecution, for its part, has launched an investigation into allegations that several local builders colluded to win a bid for the project, with a former executive of one of the major industry players, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., appearing for prosecution questioning on Monday in connection with the alleged rigging scheme by the builders. (Yonhap News)