Asian Highway
Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC) joined hands with the U.N. to begin studies on international cooperation in order to push forward the idea of the Asian Highway (AH) project, an international road network project. The international cooperation study is a joint research program between the KEC and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), which starts from this year to 2017.
The program aims to improve the existing design criteria of the AH, establish the technical standards for road safety facilities, and find the direction of the intelligent transportation system application using IT.
It will also come up with multilateral measures for the section on the Korean peninsula, which is cut off due to the division of Korea into north and south.
Currently, 30 countries, including South and North Korea, have joined the AH project. It is a planned network of 141,714 kilometers with eight major routes. Both the Asian Highway 1 (AH1) and Asian Highway 6 (AH6) routes stretch from the Korean peninsula, passing through China, Russia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
The Pyongyang–Kaesong Motorway is the planned central axis of the AH1. The Munsan-Kaesong Motorway, which will link the borders of South and North Korea, is also expected to be a substantial leg of the AH1.
A team of KEC Research Institute experts will be called in to investigate 11 countries through which routes the AH1 and AH6 pass through such as North Korea, China, Russia, and India, in earnest from next month. Jointly with the UN and AH member countries, the KEC will also conduct a field study.
An official from the KEC said, “Korea’s experience of highway operation and advanced technology will enrich the AH. This cooperation will also contribute to promoting the common prosperity of every country in Asia.”