[THE INVESTOR]  South Korea unveiled plans on Aug. 30 to build a network of smart expressways that will include new sections of road that charge electric vehicles as they go.

For this, the government will spend 37 trillion won (US$33.10 billion) over the next five years, while also attracting an additional 35 trillion won in private investment.

Under the plans, the government will also build an additional 1,000 kilometers of expressway, extending the total length in the country to 5,131 kilometers by 2020, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The new expressways will create what the ministry called a complete network of roads where nearly 96 percent of the country’s entire population can access an expressway within 30 minutes from their homes.

South Korean roads will also feature various functions for smart, environmentally friendly vehicles as the country moves to commercialize autonomous or self-driving cars by 2020.

By 2018, all major rest areas on expressways will be equipped with electric vehicle charging stations, while the country will install the Cooperative Intelligent Transport System that is a prerequisite to the operation of self-driving cars on all expressways by 2020.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)