A Surge in Aging Infrastructure Over 30 Years... "Safety and Economic Defense Must Be Ensured Through Increased Investment"

The view of the Gyeongbu Expressway northbound (left) and southbound lanes as seen from Jamwon IC, Seocho-gu, Seoul

More than 17.5% of domestic infrastructure has been in service for over 30 years since completion, and as this proportion is expected to increase rapidly over the next decade, there are calls for expanded investment in related maintenance and repairs.

On the 22nd, the Korea Construction Industry Research Institute (KICRI) stated in its recently published Construction Trend Briefing, "In particular, many bridge and river-related facilities are expected to become over 30 years old within the next 10 years, necessitating focused inspections and investments in these facilities."

According to KICRI, there are a total of 160,381 facilities classified as Type 1, 2, and 3 under the 'Facility Safety Act.' Among these, 27,997 facilities, or 17.5%, have been in service for more than 30 years. Within the next 10 years, an additional 42,908 facilities (26.8%) will reach 30 years since completion, leading to a sharp increase in the number of aging infrastructures by 2030.

In preparation for infrastructure aging, countries around the world are expanding investments in maintenance and management. In the United States, maintenance costs accounted for 60.5% of the SOC budget in 2017 (U.S. Congressional Budget Office, 2017). In Japan, maintenance costs made up 29.9% of all public works in 2018 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan, 2019), and are expected to surpass new investment amounts by 2030.

In 2014, the World Economic Forum (WEF) predicted that "while infrastructure supply (investment) in OECD countries will decline, demand for maintenance and performance improvement will surge."

Korea's infrastructure was mainly built in the 1970s and 1980s, and the aging of facilities is now progressing in earnest. Especially, as the number of infrastructures over 30 years old is expected to increase beyond current levels within the next decade, there are calls for expanded investment in related infrastructure.

Um Geun-yong, a senior researcher at KICRI, said, "Major countries such as the United States and Japan are expanding investments in aging infrastructure and implementing infrastructure investments as a means to defend against economic downturns caused by COVID-19. Investment in aging infrastructure is necessary as it can ensure public safety and also reduce future investment costs."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.