▲ Location map of National Road No. 77 Sinan Amhae - Haenam Hwawon (Provided by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The construction projects for social overhead capital (SOC) aimed at balanced regional development are set to be fully launched. This is also the first case to mandate the participation of local companies above a certain percentage to achieve practical balanced development.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Public Procurement Service announced on the 7th that starting from the 8th, they will begin bidding announcements for the "National Balanced Development Project" with the "National Road No. 77 Sinan Aphae-Haenam Hwawon Road Construction Project (Sections 1 and 2)." In mid-April, announcements will also be made for the "National Road No. 20 Sancheong Sinan-Saengbiryang Road Construction Project."
The National Balanced Development Project consists of projects that were deemed necessary for national policy promotion in January last year and were exempted from preliminary feasibility studies through the State Council. Notably, starting from this announcement, the new "Regional Mandatory Joint Contract System" under the newly enforced "National Contract Act Enforcement Decree" from the 7th will be applied. Since these projects are promoted to revitalize the regional economy, only consortia including local companies headquartered in the metropolitan local government where the construction site is located can participate in the bidding for the National Balanced Development Project SOC projects.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Public Procurement Service prepared the bidding announcements to coincide with the enforcement of the decree, even though the bidding announcements for these three projects could have been made before April, in order to apply the regional mandatory joint contract system.
The National Road No. 77 Sinan Aphae-Haenam Hwawon Road Construction Project (Sections 1 and 2) includes marine bridges and underwater tunnels, and considering the project's complexity, it will be promoted through a design-build turnkey bidding method. To participate in this bidding, a consortium with at least 20% participation from companies in Jeonnam Province must be formed. Bidding participants will prepare the basic design by August, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Central Construction Technology Review Committee plans to evaluate the basic design contents and select qualified candidates for detailed design between September and October.
The National Road No. 20 Sancheong Sinan-Saengbiryang Road Construction Project, scheduled to be announced in mid-April, involves expanding and newly constructing the road into four lanes to improve hazardous sections and resolve bottlenecks. After the bidding announcement, the contractor will be selected in June according to the Public Procurement Service's bidding schedule, and construction will commence. This project allows bidding only from consortia with at least 40% participation from companies in Gyeongnam Province.
Kim Yong-seok, Director of the Road Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "As the first case among all National Balanced Development Project projects to apply the regional mandatory joint contract system, this is very meaningful," adding, "We hope that the fully launched National Balanced Development Project will revitalize the construction industry and regional economy, which have been stagnant due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)."
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