The government has finalized its blueprint mapping out 17 new national growth engines, including renewable energies and global healthcare, which will drive the national economy over the next three to 10 years.

This was spelled out in a joint session of the 29th National Science & Technology Council and the third Presidential Council for Future & Vision held under the chairmanship of President Lee Myung-bak at Cheong Wa Dae on the morning of Jan. 13.

The 17 new national growth engines are six projects in green technology industries, including new renewable energies, low-carbon energies, LED (light-emitting diode) applications, and green transportation systems; six in state-of-the-art fusion industries, such as IT fusion systems, robot applications, and biomedicines; and five in high valued-added industries, including global healthcare, global education services, green financing, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions, and events) and the tourism industry.

The new growth engines will focus on expanding growth potential by using all policy means available -- including research and development, improvement of taxation and other systems and manpower development -- and creating quality jobs with a view to fostering new industries that will drive the national economy in the future.

The government especially plans to induce civilians'' active participation in the projects by linking the "Green New Deal," which was announced on Jan. 6, with its latest "R&D Projects for Green Technologies," which were announced on Jan. 13

The government will inject more than 6.3 trillion won to implement the R&D projects over the next four years, while increasing the ratio of investment in basic research into original technologies from 17 percent (150 billion won) in 2007 to 35 percent (700 billion won) by 2012.

If the blueprint for new growth engines is successfully implemented, the value added will amount to 700 trillion won by 2018, exports from new growth engines will increase 18 percent annually on average, about 3.5 million new quality jobs will be created over the next decade, and people''s quality of life will therefore be improved, the government predicts.