'Environmentally - Friendly
 RoadConstruction'
Int'l Road & Traffic Expo 2005 to be held July 7-10 in Korea

In cooperation with the International Road Federation, the Korea Road & Transportation Association (KRTA) is organizing the International Road & Traffic Expo 2005 slated for July -10 at KINTEX, north of Seoul. The first International Road and Traffic Conference (IRTC) will be held as a side event of the exposition. The following are the excerpts of a recent interview with Cho Keon-chang, the KRTA vice chairman.
Question: Would you elaborate on the details of International Road & Traffic Expo 2005, including the theme, the significance of organizing this exposition and the schedule of events?
Answer: Korea has actively pushed ahead with road construction projects to meet a rise in traffic volume, caused by the rapid industrialization since the late 1970s and promote balanced national development, and they have brought about the development of related industries. In the process, the nation now has a cobweb network of expressways, national and regional roads.
Unlike the past focus on quantitative growth, road construction will be geared toward such factors as advancement, market-opening, high efficiency, intelligence transportation system and environmental-friendliness in consideration of road traffic environmental impact on private lives and industries. Research on these factors and investments will cut down on transportation costs and time and improve convenience and agreeableness.
Complying with this development strategy, the government has established a plan under the catchphrase "Construction of Rapid, Convenient, Strong, Human-Oriented Road,"calling for investing 122 trillion won by 2011.
As such, road and transportation industries are not only one of the nation's most essential key industries, but also industrial fields closest to people. They rake in massive foreign currencies through overseas construction projects and show off their technological prowess abroad.
The exposition under the theme "Advanced Technology and Safety on the Road"will target quantitative and qualitative growth in road and transportation industries and overseas market exploration. The exhibition will serve as an opportunity for people in domestic industries to get a glimpse of international technology trends and relevant companies to publicize their equipment, materials and technologies. Traffic and transportation ministers, other policymakers and prominent figures will be invited to take a firsthand look at Korea's advanced technologies, thus helping expand the export base.
During the exhibition period, those who are recognized for their meritorious contribution to the development of road and transportation industries will be awarded with prizes in celebration of the anniversary of Road Day, established to mark the dedication of the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) Expressway. Representatives of each sector will hold policy discussions and international and domestic experts will get together for the 1st International Road and Traffic Conference (IRTC).
Q: How many exhibitors and spectators are expected to participate in the International Road & Traffic Expo 2005?
A: The Korea Road and Road Transportation Association and KINTEX have planned and prepared the exhibition in the past two years, the first such exhibition to be held in Korea's largest exhibition center that made its debut recently.
Road and transportation industries, comprising of almost all industrial sectors, including manufacturing, machinery, IT and logistics, account for a large portion of the social overhead capital (SOC) field. In consideration of diverse sectors involved, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, National Police Agency, Korea Highway Corp., KOTRA and other government and public organizations have provided support to make organizing the exhibition a success.
Exhibits will be classified in five categories road construction & maintenance; road safety facility and equipment; street furniture; traffic signals & road signs; ITS; telematics; parking; vehicle repair & gas station facilities and others.
Organizers are seeking to set up some 500 booths for some 300 companies - leaders in the road and transportation industries and firms who want to explore overseas markets with new engineering methods. About 200,000 spectators, including people from industry, academia and research institute, as well as 10,000 foreign buyers are expected to visit the exhibition. KOTRA is exerting itself to attract as many foreign buyers as possible to expedite participating exhibitors?overseas market exploration.
Q: Would you explain to our readers the venue of the exhibition and booths and observation facilities?
A: KINTEX, the venue of the exhibition, is a world-class, state-of-the-art convention facility in Ilsan the Gyeonggi provincial government, Goyang municipal government and KOTRA recently dedicated with a joint investment of 219.5 billion won as part of the central government's Northeast Asian economic hub development plan.
Under the first-phase construction project that was completed and opened on April, KINTEX has three floor convention facilities with 53,975 sq. meters in combined floor space, equivalent to the size of eight soccer fields, on a lot covering 68,000 pyeong (202,400 sq. meters). The convention center is designed to accommodate such heavy equipment with heavy weight, too heavy for other convention centers to endure.
When and if the third-phase construction project is completed by 2013, KINTEX will have an additional 54,000-pyeong (178,200 sq. meter) exhibition space on a 100,000 pyeong (330,000 sq. meter) lot to establish itself as Asia's largest convention center.
The location of KINTEX is an ideal place for holding such an international exposition as it has a good access to airports - a 20-minute drive to Gimpo Int'l Airport and a 40-minute drive to Incheon Int'l Airport.
The first International Road and Traffic Conference, to be held as a side event of Int'l Road & Traffic Expo 2005, will be an international academic seminar KRTA will organize in cooperation with the International Road Federation and Korea Transport Institute (KITI).
About 20 Korean and 30 foreign ministers, vice ministers, scholars and experts will be invited to discuss research achievements and promote exchanges and international cooperation.
IRTC is composed of seven sessions. The discussion topics include ways of connect inter-Korean and Asian road networks; sustainable traffic systems and civilians?participation; roads and pavement; tunnels and ground; and structures and bridges.
Q: What tasks does KRTA have to tackle?
A: The most important task KRTA will have to carry out is to successfully organize International Road & Traffic Expo 2005. The exposition will serve as an opportunity to promote the development of the local road and transportation industries and promote technology exchanges and understand international trends, thus upgrading the domestic industries.
The association is focusing on ensuring the development of technologies by completing the ongoing revision of setting the standards of state designs related to road and transportation as well as producing publication materials designed to showcase Korea? beautiful roads.
Q: What steps does your association take to reposition itself as an advanced institution?
A: KRTA, established in 1966, has overhauled design standardization and specifications for technological improvement. In cooperation with the Ministry of Construction and Transportation, the association has jointly published guidebooks on environment-friendly road design techniques in such a way that causes environmental damage, caused by road construction, may be minimized, as the public demand for making environmental problems social issues has mounted.
In an effort to enhance Korea's standing, improve international cooperation in the domestic road and transportation industries and enhance technology and industrial development, KRTA organized the 11th International Road Forum Congress in Seoul in April 1989. The association organized the 5th ITS Seoul Conference in October 1998 in a bid to upgrade the domestic ITS sector to advanced standards.
KRTA set up the Korea branch of the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia (REAAA) in October 2001 to beef up international cooperation in the road sector, and the association has participated in diverse conferences and seminars to obtain the latest technological developments and advanced foreign expertise. KRTA has also actively participated in Korean-Chinese road meetings to improve bilateral ties and technology exchanges between the two countries.
The association will continue to expand industry people's overseas study and improve relations of domestic and foreign institutions. It is exerting itself to make Korea a global center of the road and transportation industries by evolving the upcoming International Road & Traffic EXPO 2005 and the first International Road and Traffic Conference. nw

Cho Keon-chang, vice chairman of Korea Road & Transportation Association

The Hakui Intersection of the Seoul Circular Road