The mayor of Seoul will now be allowed to halt construction and restrict traffic upon signs of a sinkhole opening up near a construction site.

On Wednesday the Seoul Metropolitan Council passed revisions to an ordinance on underground safety management in the capital, enabling the mayor to take such steps in cooperation with related agencies. 

The changes also require the mayor to promptly order an inspection if the city receives reports or complaints about major deformations of the ground or facilities near construction sites where underground excavation work is taking place.  

The council also passed revisions to an ordinance on the city’s sewer system that calls on the capital to carry out a fact-finding survey on sewer pipes that are more than 30 years old in a bid to prevent land subsidence accidents. 

The revisions also require the city to devise and implement plans on the maintenance of aging sewer pipes.