Four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region will unite their efforts on joint issues such as exemption from the preliminary feasibility study for the Chungcheong regional metropolitan transportation network.
Daejeon City, Sejong City, Chungnam Province, and Chungbuk Province held the "32nd Chungcheong Regional Administrative Council" at Sejong City Hall on the 13th. The Administrative Council is an organization involving the governors of the four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region, primarily operated to discuss cooperation on joint issues and ways to achieve mutual development in the Chungcheong region.
On this day, the Administrative Council adopted a joint petition for mutual cooperation on joint issues including ▲reflection of the Chungcheong regional metropolitan road and railway leading projects in the national plan and exemption from preliminary feasibility studies ▲enactment of a special law supporting the development of the central inland connection area within the year ▲construction of the National Assembly Sejong Branch and constitutional recognition of the administrative capital ▲early opening of the Sejong-Cheongju Expressway.
The reflection of the Chungcheong regional metropolitan road and railway leading projects in the national plan and exemption from preliminary feasibility studies was discussed as a core issue to select key leading projects among transportation infrastructure projects that will lay the foundation for the formation of the Chungcheong mega-city and prioritize them as national policies.
The joint petition included the necessity to reflect in the national plan and proceed early through exemption from preliminary feasibility studies for projects included in the presidential pledge (Chungcheong regional pledges), such as ▲Boryeong-Daejeon-Boeun Expressway ▲Chungcheong Region 2nd Outer Ring Expressway ▲Daejeon-Sejong-Chungbuk Metropolitan Railway ▲Chungcheong Inland Railway construction.
The enactment of the special law within the year aims to establish a national-level support system for the systematic preservation and rational use of the natural landscape in the central inland area, promote joint cooperative projects utilizing geographical and environmental advantages, and foster a self-reliant foundation for the relatively underdeveloped central inland region to address local and population decline.
The construction of the National Assembly Sejong Branch and constitutional recognition of the administrative capital were included in the joint petition as measures to firmly establish the administrative capital status of Sejong City and fulfill the original purpose of Sejong City’s construction, which is national balanced development.
The early opening of the Sejong-Cheongju Expressway, originally scheduled for 2030, was included in the joint petition to advance the opening to 2027 to coincide with the Summer World University Games to be held in the Chungcheong region (scheduled for 2027) and the completion schedule of the National Assembly Sejong Branch (scheduled for 2028).
The four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region plan to deliver the joint petition to the central government and designate the four tasks contained in the joint petition as Chungcheong regional joint cooperation projects for focused management.
The governors of the four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region emphasized, “To build a sustainable and successful super-regional alliance, it is essential to expand road and railway transportation infrastructure that can connect the Chungcheong region as one living economic zone beyond administrative boundaries between regions.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
