Busan is good

Korea to put up international Asian highway signs by 2010

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Korea will put up new highway signs in preparation to become part of a pan-Asian highway network, the government said on Tuesday (June 20).

The signs with the acronym AH (Asian Highway) will be added by 2010 to the Gyeongbu Expressway linking Seoul with the southeastern port of Busan, and National Highway No. 7 on the east coast, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said.

The Asian Highway project is a cooperative effort among Asian countries and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) initiated in 1959 to improve highway systems in Asia.

It is aimed at establishing a 140,000-km highway system crisscrossing Asia's 32 nations and connecting with Europe by 2010.

While the past few decades saw the initiative snagged over the project's feasibility, Asian governments stepped up efforts these past few years, sealing an effective agreement in July 2005.

While North Korea is a UNESCAP member, it has yet to sign an agreement on the project. The UN body is making efforts to persuade the North to open its roads to the network.

The project will make maximum use of roads throughout Asia to avoid costly construction of new highways, according to the ministry.

 

The source of news : Korea.net  June 21, 2006