Spain and the Republic of Korea sign a memorandum of understanding on infrastructure and transport

The agreement provides for the parties to carry on cooperation activities in such areas as planning, development, construction and supervision of railway infrastructure, both conventional and high speed, as well as the management of the operation of railway traffic.

Moreover, the agreement provides for cooperation on train maintenance, the design of train yards, training for railway personnel and railway traffic management systems.

Cooperation activities will also extend to motorway and highway infrastructure, the design and construction of port facilities, the planning, construction and management of airport facilities and services, the development of air navigation systems and air traffic control, together with urban regeneration policies and the refurbishment of properties.

Other forms of cooperation include the exchange of information, experiences and research, technical advice and assistance in the preparation of projects, technology research and development, the exchange of experts, the organisation of meetings, symposiums, workshops and conferences, and training programmes and pilot projects.

The memorandum will remain in force for a period of five years, renewable for successive periods of one year.

Cooperation between the two countries

In September 2014, the former Minister for Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, Seoung-Hwan Suh, and the former Minister for Public Works, Ana Pastor, agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding that served as a framework to begin collaborating in the field of transport and infrastructure, whereby the first proposal was drafted by Spain.

Within the collaboration between South Korean and Spanish companies in the public sector, noteworthy is the memorandum of understanding signed in February 2017 between Renfe and the railway operator of the Republic of Korea (Korail) to undertake bilateral cooperation activities. The aim of this agreement was to exchange experiences and points of view to improve the performance, competitiveness and services to customers.

Furthermore, Korail and the international management of Renfe signed a contract in October 2015 to develop training services, by means of which Renfe taught a five-day seminar on the "Design and Operation of Installations to Maintain High-Speed Railways" and in 2016 received visits from four South Korean delegations.

Infrastructure in Republic of Korea

South Korea has highly developed infrastructures at all levels and a mature engineering and construction sector. The highway network extends for almost 105,000 kilometres in total, of which some 4,000 kilometres are national motorways.

At the end of 2016, the Ministry of Transport announced that it was planning to extend the national network of highways so that driverless vehicles could use them.

The Republic of Korea also has a railway network of more than 3,400 kilometres and around 400 kilometres of high-speed railway. In 2010, it launched a strategic plan to connect the majority of its major cities by high-speed railway and extend the 368 kilometres it has at present to 2,362 kilometres by 2020.

In the field of urban transport, the Republic of Korea plans to modernise the current railway system in metropolitan areas, capable of operating of speeds of up to 180 km/h.

In terms of air transport, Incheon International Airport is currently being extended, which is located 60 kilometres from Seoul, with a second terminal that is scheduled to be operational by October 2017.