'Making Road Network Fast, Eco-Friendly, Safe, Efficient'

Government plans to ramp up the ITS build-up rate to 25 percent by 2020 under the low-carbon, green growth paradigm




The following are excerpts of a written interview between NewsWorld and Kim Hyeong-ryeol, director general for road policy at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM), who spoke about the government's future road policies.

Question: Will you tell us about road projects that are scheduled to be completed or launched during this year?
Answer: The MLTM is pushing ahead with the construction of highways and national roads in accordance with plans for the nationwide expressway network taking the form of seven axis of south-north roads and nine axis of west-east roads (7x9) and the road network in the Seoul metropolitan area taking the form of seven axis of south-north roads and three axis of west-east roads plus three ring roads (7x4+3R) in an effort to strengthen the competitiveness of the national territory. It is funneling 7.3 trillion won into the construction of expressways and national roads as well as road maintenance during this year.
During the year, 57 projects measuring 527.17 km in combined length will be completed and opened to traffic. The 57 include the Yongin-Icheon section of the Yeongdong Expressway Expansion Project and two other expressways, totaling 133.8 km in length, and 30 national roads, totaling 246.9 km in length.
Our ministry plans to launch 20 road construction projects during this year, including a project to build the Yangsan-Ulsan section of National Road No. 35 and seven other national road construction projects, as part of efforts to expand trunk road infrastructure.
We plan to devote ourselves to continuously building the trunk road network so as to ensure the smooth logistics flows and pleasant road environment for people.

Q: Will you elaborate on mid- and long-term road network construction plans?
A: In December 1998, the government established the first road refurbishment master plan for the period between 1998 and 2011, being stipulated every decade in accordance with the Act on Roads Article 22, with the goal of building and expanding the national trunk road network across the territory in a systematic manner. Under a revision of the plan, established in December 2005, the national trunk road network is undergoing renovation.
The roadmap of the planned national trunk road network calls for the construction of seven axis of south-north roads and nine axis of east-west roads and a ring road network in five metropolitan areas including the capital. The projected national trunk road network has seen 3,932 km, or 54 percent of the 7,265 km combined length, completed.
According to the second road refurbishment master plan for the period between 2011 and 2020, such routes linking to the Seoul metropolitan area as the Ansan-Incheon, Bongdam-Songsang, Seoul-Sejong, Icheon-Osan, Paju-Pocheon, Gimpo-Paju, Pocheon-Hwado, Yangpyeong-Icheon and the Hwado-Yangpyeong sections will be given preference on a step-by-step basis.
Preferential treatment will be also given to the projects to the Gongju, Hamyang-Ulsan, Pohang-Yeongdeok, Pyeongtaek-Buyeo, Dangjin-Cheonan, Seoul-Yeoncheon, Saemangeum-Jeonju, Gwangju-Wando and Cheorlwon-Pocheon lines as well as ring roads in the Daegu and Gwangju metropolitan areas.
If and when the projects are implemented under the second road refurbishment master plan, it will produce 11.3 trillion won in such direct benefits as a reduction in travel time and driving cost. It will also have an indirect impact yielding 21.9 trillion won in the expansion of production through augmented gross domestic product and the creation of demand, riding on spillover effects to other industries and the expansion of added value, etc.
Q: Will you tell us about the current status and future plans for implementing the private sector? investments into expressway projects?
A: Expressway PPI (private participation in infrastructure) projects have been introduced for supplementing the government's budget constraints and advancing users' benefits.
Currently, the private sector is participating in the construction of 25 expressways, measuring 947.5 km in length. Nine expressway lines, totaling 421.8 km in length, built with the private sector's investments, are in operation. They include the Incheon International Airport Expressway, Cheon-Nonsan Expressway, Daegu-Busan Expressway, the Seoul Outer Ring Road, Seoul-Chuncheon Expressway and the Yongin-Seoul Expressway.
The Pyeongtaek-Shiheung Expressway is under construction with completion slated for 2013. The planned Suwon-Gwangmyeong Expressway and the 2nd Yeongdong (Gwangju-Wonju) Expressway, which have already been given the green light, are to break ground within this year.
Concession agreements have already been reached for the Sangju-Yeongcheon Expressway, Incheon-Gimpo Expressway, Guri-Pocheon Expressway and the 2nd backwater area road to Busan New Port and the projects will break ground shortly after completing their design. Negotiations are underway on concession agreements for the planned Seoul-Munsan, Gwangmyeong-Seoul and Oksan-Ochang expressways, and the projects will begin gradually in 2012 or later after completing the negotiations.
Negotiations for concession agreements will begin for the three portions of the 2nd Seoul Ring Road － the Songsan-Bongdam, Osan-Icheon and Pocheon-Hwado sections.
The MLTM plans to implement expressway PPI projects without a hitch by continuing to improve investment conditions.
PPI projects, now under construction and under consideration, do not have a minimum revenue guarantee (MRG) clause or have toll charges similar to those imposed by Korea Expressway Corp., thus greatly easing past controversies surrounding MRGs and hefty toll fees.



Q: Will you tell us about the current status and prospects of the intelligent transportation system (ITS) industry?
A: It's is an advanced next-generation green traffic system and low-cost, high-efficiency smart traffic social overhead capital designed to improve efficiency and safety by making traffic operation and management automatic and scientific through the combination of traffic means and facilities with advanced IT and traffic information. A report released by the Samsung Economic Research Institute in March 2009 showed that the application of ITS to the roads across the nation would yield 11.8 trillion won in social benefits arising from a reduction in traffic congestion, traffic accidents and logistics costs. The construction of ITS along national roads, measuring 1,013 km in total length, would have an impact of reducing 6,258 TOE (tons of oil equivalent) in energy and 18,828 tons of CO2.
The domestic ITS industry has seen explosive growth since 1994 when the nation conducted a pilot project to build ITS infrastructure along the Seoul-Daejeon section of the Gyeongbu Expressway. Currently, all expressways － 3,776 km in total length － are built with ITS, while 11.7 percent of paved roads across the nation are fitted with ITS － 19 percent of national roads, accounting for 2,552 km, and 6.6 percent of roads connecting major and small cities accounting for 3,435 km. The government plans to increase the ITS buildup rate for the nation's trunk road network to 14 percent in 2012 and 25 percent in 2020. Fifty-six local governments across the nation are equipped with the bus information system (BIS), while 45 organizations, including 27 local governments, operate a traffic information center.
Korea hosted the 17th ITS World Congress in 2010, which attracted 215 corporate exhibitors and organizations from 22 countries. The event, dubbed the "Traffic Olympics," is one of the biggest events combining exhibition and workshop. The 2010 ITS World Congress was an opportunity not only to publicize the nation's ITS technology and its exemplary practice of low-carbon, green growth, but also to help the domestic ITS industry accelerate its efforts to make inroads abroad. nw


Photo on Courtesy of the MLTM