The 24th Road Day ceremony was attended by some 650 government officials, led by Minister Yoo Il-ho of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and executives of construction and engineering companies led by Chairman Kim Hak-song of the Korea Road Transportation Association at the Construction Hall in Seoul on July 7.
Road Day has been held every July 7 since 1992 to commemorate the opening of the Seoul-Busan Expressway on July 7, 1970. The event is held to encourage the spirit of those engaged in the development of technologies for road construction and economic development, both at home and abroad.
At the ceremony, 50 people in the construction industry were awarded medals and citations in recognition of their contributions to the development of roads in Korea.
The anniversary ceremony also coincided with a publicity event for the successful hosting of the World Road Congress 2015 slated for November in Seoul. The 25th edition of the World Road Congress will be held in Seoul from Nov. 2 to 5.
Under the theme of “Roads and Mobility - Creating New Value from Transport,” the five-day event will bring together thousands of road and road transport stakeholders from around the world, including about 50 ministers or vice ministers and top leaders from public and private organizations. Dozens of sessions will allow participants to get a broad and global picture of the current situation of the road sector and its main challenges for the future. The Congress is therefore the 2015 road event, offering a unique opportunity to strengthen one’s knowledge and expand one’s network, while enjoying the discovery of Korea’s state-of-the-art technologies in road transport, as well as its exceptional blend of tradition and modernity, thanks to special events leaving participants with unforgettable memories of Korea.
During the anniversary event, a road cooperation committee was inaugurated among the central and local governments to promote cooperation in the road field. The inauguration of the tentatively named Road Cooperation Committee is designed to promote exchanges of views and share excellent policies and technology among central government officials in charge of law, institutional systems and policies as well as local government officials charged with the execution of them.
In a speech, MOLIT Minister Yoo said with the launch of the Road Cooperation Committee, central and local governments will jointly develop new policies, try to eliminate conflicts, and share technology and experiences with each other.
The Korea Research Institute for Human Settlements (KRIHS), the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology, and the Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) signed an MOU on cooperation in the development of road policies.
The signing of the agreement is designed to have synergetic effects to cope with global and domestic road environment changes, including the debut of self-driving cars, the discussion of the Asian Highway, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)’s engagement in the global road infrastructure market.
A Korea Expressway Corp. official said the deal is expected to contribute to securing new national growth engines in the 21st Century by standardizing national road networks on a global basis.
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