Gangwon-do Seeks 'Local Company Participation' in National Railway Projects

Request for Construction Companies' Participation and Use of Equipment, Materials, and Workforce within the Construction Company
Request for Revision of Railroad Corporation Regulations... Expected Regional Economic Revitalization and Job Creation

President Yoon Suk-yeol attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the 'Chuncheon~Sokcho East-West High-Speed Railway' held on the morning of the 18th at the Expo Lawn Square in Sokcho and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. (From left in the photo: Lee Yang-su, member of the People Power Party; Han Ki-ho, member of the People Power Party; President Yoon; Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport; Kim Jin-tae, Governor of Gangwon Province) [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Gangwon Province has decided to seek ways to maximize the participation of local construction companies in large-scale national railway projects within the province.

Starting with the Chuncheon~Sokcho railway construction project, which began on the 18th, local companies will participate in large-scale national projects promoted within the province, such as the Gangneung~Jejin and Yeoju~Wonju railways, aiming to revitalize the economy of northern Gangwon.

The province requested that local companies participate extensively in the Chuncheon~Sokcho East-West High-Speed Railway Construction Section 1, led by HJ Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., and Section 7, led by Hanwha Construction Co., Ltd.

For the Gangneung~Jejin railway construction project and the Yeoju~Wonju railway construction project, which is currently in detailed design, the province plans to propose local company participation in line with the start of full-scale construction.

The Gangneung~Jejin railway construction, which has partially started, plans to complete basic and detailed designs by April next year and begin construction on all sections in the second half of the year.

The Yeoju~Wonju railway construction project aims to complete detailed design by May next year and plans to sign construction contracts and start construction after June.

Earlier, on the 14th, the province visited the headquarters of the Korea National Railway Corporation in Daejeon to request revisions to internal regulations to expand the participation of local construction companies.

Currently, the Korea National Railway Corporation's "Prequalification Criteria for Bidding Participation" includes scoring provisions that add or deduct points based on local company participation, but these provisions are only applied until this year, making it difficult for local companies to participate in railway projects ordered from next year.

According to the "Prequalification Criteria for Bidding Participation," a 10% deduction is temporarily applied until the end of this year if at least one local company is not included.

The Korea National Railway Corporation's contract department has decided to review revisions to internal regulations so that the deduction clause can be deferred and conditions for local company participation can be ensured.

However, within the province, ongoing disasters such as large-scale wildfires, deadlock and deterioration in inter-Korean relations, military unit relocations and disbandments due to Defense Reform 2.0, and the decline of the coal industry are increasing the sense of crisis across the economy.

The participation rate of local construction companies in large-scale national projects such as railway construction is also low, leading to strong demands to increase the participation rate of local companies facing management difficulties.

Son Chang-hwan, Director of the Gangwon Province Construction and Transportation Bureau, said, "Through revisions to the Korea National Railway Corporation's internal regulations, we will continue to apply the deduction clause, which is only valid until this year, to create conditions that allow local companies to participate."

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