Inadequate Basic Design and Lack of Supervisory Staff... BAI: "Poor Management of Expressway Projects"

The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) has identified numerous cases where the total project cost for expressway construction projects was underestimated, leading to project delays, as well as cases where a shortage of construction supervision personnel and absenteeism at sites resulted in gaps in safety management. Furthermore, the BAI discovered factors contributing to budget waste, such as duplicated estimates for design quantities and payment for uninstalled facilities, and concluded that if contract price reductions and recoveries are implemented, project costs could be reduced by as much as 22.9 billion won.

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On March 5, the BAI announced the results of its audit on the “Status of Expressway Construction Project Management,” stating that it had issued 63 corrective action requests to Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), Gwangju Metropolitan City, and other entities. This audit was conducted as part of a preemptive inspection system for social overhead capital (SOC) projects throughout their life cycle, targeting three projects in the pre-construction design phase and four projects in the high-risk construction phase.

According to the BAI, a key case identified during the design phase inspection was the Honam Expressway “Donggwangju-Gwangsan” expansion project (expanding from four to six lanes), where inadequate planning for noise barriers led to instability in the project cost estimation and increased concerns about delays in opening. The BAI determined that the KEC failed to properly plan noise barriers during the basic design stage due to insufficient research on noise-sensitive facilities, failure to reflect certain traffic volumes, and lack of countermeasures for high-rise apartment noise. As a result, the total project cost was underestimated by an estimated 209.8 billion won, which led to additional procedures, such as feasibility reassessments, and ultimately delayed the project.

For this project, the total project cost increased from 276.2 billion won at the preliminary feasibility study stage to 793.4 billion won after including detailed design and price fluctuations, with the proportion allocated to noise barrier costs rising significantly. The BAI cautioned KEC to ensure that underestimating noise barrier construction costs does not hinder future project implementation.

The issue of Gwangju City’s project cost sharing also came under scrutiny. The BAI pointed out that Gwangju City failed to pay its share of costs within the agreed timeframe, resulting in the suspension of the project, and notified the relevant authorities to prevent recurrence. However, the BAI explained that after the audit, Gwangju City took action to resume the project by paying its share.

Another problem highlighted was the prolonged lack of coordination and adjustment among project stakeholders regarding noise barrier costs. Despite significant differences between KEC and developers over sharing noise barrier costs for residential developments near the project route, Gwangju City left the issue unresolved for more than two years after approving the residential development, raising concerns about future disputes and construction delays. The BAI notified Gwangju City to promptly establish a plan for coordination and adjustment.

The application of noise standards during the environmental impact assessment process was also found to require improvement. The BAI noted that KEC uniformly applied the standards under the “Framework Act on Environmental Policy” (65 dB during the day/55 dB at night) without comprehensively considering factors such as the sequence of land use, existing noise levels, and differences in noise-related legal standards. This could lead to excessive noise barrier construction costs and reduced project efficiency. The BAI advised KEC to adopt differentiated noise reduction targets according to facility type.

During the construction phase audit, the inflexibility of construction supervision personnel allocation and gaps in safety management were highlighted. The BAI found that KEC assigned supervisory staff to each project section without considering annual construction volume or progress, resulting in supervision ratios falling below 50% during the years with the largest construction expenditures. Cases were also found where site absences for vacation or personal leave during high-risk work periods were allowed without replacement personnel, increasing the risks of inadequate supervision and accidents.

Specifically, in the Gimpo-Paju Expressway project, the contractor submitted inflated estimates for the unit prices and quantities of work platforms and other items, and KEC reflected these in design changes without sufficient review. Additionally, payments were made for temporary stairs and vertical safety nets that were not installed. The BAI demanded disciplinary action against two individuals involved and notified the recovery of a total of 3.7 billion won in overpayments and other amounts.

In addition, the BAI called for reductions totaling 7.62 billion won, citing duplicated estimates in design quantities (6.55 billion won) and overpayments for construction work exceeding actual quantities (1.07 billion won). The BAI also pointed out issues such as the failure to incorporate measures for reducing tunnel construction costs and errors in calculating construction costs for non-point pollution reduction facilities. Through these findings, the BAI identified numerous cases subject to contract price reductions and recoveries, emphasizing the need for institutional improvement and strengthened on-site management to address opening delays, prevent safety accidents, and curb excessive construction expenditures.

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