KICT Resumes Exchange and Cooperation Meeting with Japan's PWRI After Seven Years

The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) announced on the 26th that it co-hosted the 11th KICT-PWRI Exchange and Cooperation Meeting with the Public Works Research Institute (PWRI) of Japan. During the event, a joint seminar was held at KICT's Ilsan headquarters, covering research achievements and future preparations in six fields: road pavement, concrete, slope management, river restoration, river engineering, and hydrological observation.
Participants from both institutions agreed to share technologies and collaborate to address common challenges such as flood disasters, aging infrastructure management, and the development of eco-friendly construction technologies, with the aim of building a safer society. Park Sun-kyu, President of KICT, emphasized, "Both institutions have consistently worked to advance infrastructure technologies that support the lives of citizens in response to national and social demands. There is no disagreement between Korea and Japan that the foremost goal of construction technology is to protect the safety and lives of the people."
On the second day of the exchange meeting, the 27th, field visits by research area will take place. Koichi Fujita, President of PWRI, and hydrology researchers will visit the River Experiment Center in Andong, Gyeongbuk, to observe river experiments and hydrological observation technology research, and discuss expanding joint research. In addition, researchers in road, structural, and geotechnical fields will visit metropolitan infrastructure facilities such as Incheon Bridge and Incheon 3rd Land Bridge to share technological developments and application cases from both countries.
Since the first event in 2000, KICT and PWRI have regularly held exchange and cooperation meetings in both Korea and Japan. The joint seminar, which had been temporarily suspended due to COVID-19, resumed after seven years as a result of discussions during KICT researchers' visit to PWRI headquarters in August this year. Through this renewed exchange, the two institutions plan to jointly strengthen technological innovation and disaster response capabilities, and cooperate to build a social infrastructure that ensures public safety.
going@fnnews.com Choi Ga-young Reporter