Busan is good

Korea plans threefold expansion of transportation infrastructure

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Korea will expand its road and railway network by threefold in the next 20 years to relieve traffic congestion and reduce transportation costs, the government said on Wednesday (Nov. 21).

The Ministry of Construction and Transportation said the endeavor, worth 116 trillion won ($124.8 billion), will increase the country’s railway and subway line network from a total of 463 kilometers at present to 1,520 kilometers.

In addition, the country’s major roads and expressways are to be expanded from 1,084 kilometers at present to 3,156 kilometers.

Policymakers said a new expressway is to be built to make it easier for people and cargo to move between the capital city to the port of Busan on the southeastern coast.

Details on the exact route need to be worked out, but it will start on the eastern outskirts of Seoul and roughly parallel an existing road, helping to more evenly distribute traffic.

The existing expressway was built in the 1970s, and despite extensive work to widen the road, it is plagued with congestion.

Heavy traffic on the country’s highways, used extensively to move shipping containers, has been partially blamed for the high transportation costs that hurt the global competitiveness of locally made products.

For the provinces, the ministry said nine subways and light train lines will be built in and around Busan, the country’s second-largest city, while new and expanded train and road systems are planned for the cities of Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon.

"If the building project is completed on time, there should be a marked improvement in traffic movement that is good for travellers and cargo," a ministry official said.

The source of news : Korea.net  November 22, 2007