Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Construction Industry Hold Meeting on 'Railway Construction Industry Development'

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it held a communication meeting with the construction industry on the 1st to promote the development of railway construction projects.

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 3rd that it held a communication meeting on the 1st with 20 major construction companies participating in railway construction projects and the Korea Construction Association, focusing on measures to prevent serious accidents and develop the railway industry.

This meeting was organized to build consensus with the construction industry on the government's railway policy direction and to reflect industry opinions in policy. The main agenda items discussed included ▲comprehensive strengthening of safety management to prevent serious accidents ▲current status of railway R&D for leading railway industry development ▲enhancement of the social value of railways ▲win-win cooperation and fair competition in the railway construction sector.

Regarding the Serious Accidents Punishment Act implemented in January, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport inspected the establishment of a safety and health management system tailored to the characteristics of railway construction projects and essential safety management matters. Construction companies requested government-level support measures for business owners to prevent serious accidents.

Regarding railway R&D, they shared achievements and future plans such as ▲demonstration of the world's longest span (around 200m) light rail elevated structure ▲development and establishment of a BIM-based integrated operation system for lifecycle management of railway infrastructure ▲technology and performance verification of the KTCS-3 train control system.

With the recent expansion of railway investment, the government plans to issue orders for 10 railway projects worth 15 trillion won this year. Given the unprecedented volume, special management will be implemented to strengthen the ordering method, timing, and fairness.

In response, construction companies requested expanding the scope of projects for revitalizing private investment projects from new projects in the metropolitan area to existing nationwide railway networks (metropolitan railways, general railways), and proposed diversifying revenue generation methods such as granting development rights around stations in addition to fare revenue.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated that it will actively review the proposals related to revitalizing private investment projects from the perspective of strengthening railway industry competitiveness and job creation, and will positively consider the industry's requests. Kang Hee-up, Director of the Railway Bureau at the Ministry, said, “We ask the construction industry to take the lead in ensuring workers' safety, including thorough compliance with the obligations stipulated in the Serious Accidents Punishment Act,” and added, “The government will also reflect requests that combine the industry's technological capabilities and creativity in policy.”