The Ministry of Maritime Affairs is set to decide within this year on a one-hundred-ton cargo ship model for its WIG ship project.

At a presentation on the WIG ship project Thursday, ministry officials explained details and schedules to about 20 attendants from maritime transportation businesses in an effort to induce investment for the project.

A seaborne craft that flies one to five meters above the ocean surface at high speed, the WIG ship has been touted as a next-generation transportation means after being designated by the government as a national research project.

Once a model is selected, a design process will start in earnest next year, with commercialization scheduled for 2010.