Gangwon Region Companies, 'Expanding Participation in National Railway Projects'

Korea Rail Network Authority Abolishes '10-Point Deduction Clause' for Local Companies
Gangwon Province Expects 300 Billion Won Economic Effect by 2027

Gangwon Provincial Government

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Following the revision and enforcement of the Korea Rail Network Authority's internal regulations, conditions have been established for local companies, which had been restricted from participating in large-scale national projects, to now take part in these projects.

The Korea Rail Network Authority has permanently removed the clause that deducted 10 points if a local company was not included among the participants, a provision that was initially planned to be temporarily enforced until the end of this year.

Gangwon Province announced on the 5th that it will implement the "Pre-qualification Criteria for Bidding Participation in the Korea Rail Network Authority" starting from the 9th, based on this revision.

As a result, local companies in Gangwon are now able to participate in national projects investing 5.868 trillion KRW until 2027, including the recently commenced Chuncheon?Sokcho East-West High-Speed Railway, the Gangneung?Jejin railway project, and the newly ordered Yeoju?Wonju project, expecting an economic effect exceeding 300 billion KRW.

Furthermore, it is anticipated that local companies will continue to participate in projects reflected in the 4th National Railroad Network Construction Plan and others.

The province plans to encourage the participation of local companies' equipment, materials, and workforce in line with the full-scale advancement of ongoing railway construction projects such as Chuncheon?Sokcho, Gangneung?Jejin, and Yeoju?Wonju, which are currently in the design phase.

Initially, the 10-point deduction clause applied when local companies did not participate was planned to be enforced only until this year, raising concerns that the participation rate of local companies in railway projects ordered from next year would significantly decline.

In response, the province continuously requested revisions to the Korea Rail Network Authority's internal regulations to expand local company participation, and on the 29th of last month, the Authority deleted the relevant clause, enabling local companies to participate in national projects.

Son Chang-hwan, Director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau of the province, expressed expectations that "the revision of the Korea Rail Network Authority's internal regulations will lead to a chain effect of orders such as local subcontracting, greatly revitalizing the local construction economy and creating jobs, thereby providing significant momentum for economic revitalization."

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