Asphalt Advice
The Korea Express Corporation (KEC) has won a contract in Kazakhstan from the local government to consult on a project to establish a strategy to expand its east - west road for US$1.4 million (1.54 billion won).
The east-west road in Kazakhstan is a part of a New Silk Road project (TRACECA) linking Europe with Asia. The Almaty to Khorgos section is currently 355 km long with two lanes. The project will see the road expanded to four lanes and straightened to be 305 km long.
The KEC participated in the bid after forming a consortium with Isan Corporation, which is a construction engineering company in Korea. Through the project, the KEC is planning to introduce Korea’s advanced intelligent transportation system (ITS), thereby helping Korean ITS companies advance into central Asia.
The KEC is carrying out 14 projects in 14 countries, including two current ITS projects conducted in Algeria and Peru. In Algeria, the KEC is supervising the subsidiary facilities of its east-west expressway, while it is building a system to collect tolls in Peru.
An official from the KEC said, “Even though the KEC offers a bidding price, which is more than 15 percent higher than the competitor, Egis in France, the KEC was selected as the final choice to carry out the business due to its high scores in technology. It is meaningful because the superiority of the domestic toll collection system and the domestic ITS technical skills were recognized around the world.”