CEO Kim Sang-gyun of Korea Rail Network Authority (KR) discussees ways of promoting collaboration in the Halkal-Cebze high-speed railway project with and Infrastructural Investments General Director Yalcin Eyigun of the Turkish Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (unseen) in a teleconference on May 28. (Photo: KR)

CEO Kim Sang-gyun of Korea Rail Network Authority (KR) and Infrastructural Investments General Director Yalcin Eyigun of the Turkish Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure discussed ways of promoting collaboration in the Halkal-Cebze high-speed railway project in a teleconference on May 28.

The teleconference was arranged with a view of providing support to Korean companies grappling with exploring overseas markets due the global spread of COVID-19 and securing a foothold to win in the contract for the Turkish high-speed railway project.

As Korea’s activities related to the exploration of the Turkish railroad market were cancelled in March due to COVID-19, KR CEO Kim sent an official diplomatic message to Infrastructural Investments General Director Eyigun to facilitate the teleconference.

Also on hand at the teleconference were officials from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and KR as well as Hyundai E&C, GS E&C, SK Telecom, KIND, and Hyundai Rotem, participants of the “Leading Team Korea,” a Korean consortium formed for the winning of the Halkal-Cebze high-speed railway project.

A ceremony to inaugurate the consortium took place at KR’s Seoul Metropolitan Headquarters on May 27.

The consortium, led by KR, also comprised of Korean financial institutions, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank) with the support from MOLIT, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK).

KR CEO Kim explained Korea’s preparations for participation in the Halkal-Cebze high-speed railway project, and the establishment of the consortium Leading Team Korea, and asked for support from the Turkish Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

In return, General Director Eyigun extended thanks to the Korean side’s willingness to participate in the project and expressed the Turkish side’s support to promote collaboration between the two countries in the railway sector.

Member companies of the Korean consortium confirmed the Turkish government’s steps to support the project like the guaranteeing of foreign investments and foreign current risk hedging as well as information on the project such as the public-private partnership project order model and tender offer plans.

KR CEO Kim said, “As official visits there were cancelled due to the spread of COVID-19, the teleconference took place to support Korea’s winning order in the project, and KR will make its utmost efforts to land the Halkal-Cebze high-speed railway project, based on high-speed railway construction technology and knowhow Korea has accumulated so far.”

KR will continue to provide active support to Korean companies’ exploring of overseas markets, he added.

Last September, a Turkish delegation, headed by the vice minister of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, toured Korean high-speed railway sites and looked at Korea’s excellent high-speed railway technologies. KR CEO Kim and Turkish delegates discussed Korea’s participation in the Turkish high-speed railway project.

KR’s Overseas Donations for Overcoming COVID-19

KR delivered humanitarian donations to countries such Indonesia, India and Mongolia so they can overcome COVID-19, it said on June 14. KR also wants to land railway orders from those countries.

The company provided support to Indonesia to install mobile COVID-19 diagnosis centers. In the Southeast Asian country, KR had already finished the Jakarta Light Rail Phase 1 Project and the Korean authority is now implementing a project management service on the second phase project.

It also donated hand disinfectants and contactless thermometers to Mongolia and India. KR is cooperating with Mongolia for realizing a railway community in East Asia and India, a major railway project country in Southwest Asia.

CEO Kim expressed hope the donations will provide a little helping hand to the countries’ tiding over the pandemic. KR plans to continue to conduct volunteering activities tailored to meet each country’s needs to fulfill its social responsibility as a global public entity and provide active support to Korean companies’ efforts to win overseas orders.