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South Korea

How can South Korea and Belize work together for better public transport? 

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How IDB initiated supporting Belize’s public transport reform: a study tour leads to closer collaboration between Korea and Belize.

Optimizing and improving public transportation is essential to a country’s socio-economic development. As a continuation of the Comprehensive National Transport Master Plan of Belize funded by the IDB, a technical cooperation Capacity Building for Public Transport Reform was initiated in 2020 to support the Belize Government to implement the public transport reforms identified in the master plan and strengthen the institutional capacity for the transport planning.

As key part of this technical cooperation, Korea hosted the Belize Government for knowledge and technical transfer study tour. The Belize delegation of 9 Government officials traveled half the globe to Korea for a 5-day study tour, from November 21 to 25, 2022. The delegation, composed of high-level authorities including the Honorable Minister Rodwell Ferguson and Deputy Minister Gilroy Usher of Youth, Sports and Transport, as well as director-level officials from the Ministry of Transport, attended lectures and field visits to be inspired for the nation’s comprehensive transport reform.

Field visit to Seoul TOPIS

Korea shared experience and knowledge in public transport development with Belize

With more than 10 million of daily passengers using Seoul public transport, Korea possesses an advanced public transit system connecting every corner of the metropolitan area of Seoul and Gyeonggi province with 22 metro lines and 438 bus routes. Having achieved significant evolution in its public transportation, Korea shared experience and expertise on how it embraced modern technology and systems. Through peer-to-peer learning from Korea, Belize officials developed tailor-made action plans to tackle challenges and elevate the modernization of the public transit system in their country.

The lectures entailed an overview of development history of public transport infrastructure; transport modes; transport policies; the use of technology; and trends in transportation of South Korea. Paradigm shift to future mobility was also presented by renowned experts, such as green mobility for electric and hydrogen vehicles, and mobility intelligence.

In addition, the participants enjoyed hands-on experience of various transport modes in South Korea, including the metro, bus, shared-mobility services and autonomous vehicles. They had opportunities to explore the core hubs for integrated traffic data management; such as, Seoul TOPIS (Seoul Transport Operation & Information Service), and National Transportation Information Center in Sejong City.

Experience autonomous vehicle ride
Visit to hydrogen charging station

Belize and Korea will strengthen cooperation in the public transportation area

The study tour holds a significant meaning. It is a very first collaboration in the transport sector between the two countries through an IDB-funded project. To initiate and further accelerate the cooperation, meaningful encounters were made between relevant government officials of the two countries, which highlight the following meetings:

  • Presentation on hydrogen mobility policy of Changwon City (November 21, 2022)
  • Discussion session on future cooperation plans between Belize-Sejong City (November 23, 2022)
  • Meeting between Hon. Minister Rodwell Ferguson and Dongsoo Ha, Deputy Minister of Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (November 25, 2022)
  • Meeting between Hon. Minister Rodwell Ferguson and Hyunjae Jo, CEO of Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (November 25, 2022)
Signing MoU with KNUT
Meeting with KSPO

These meetings yielded fruitful results. Hon. Minister Rodwell Ferguson signed a MoU with the Korea National University of Transportation (KNUT) for a master’s or doctorate degree scholarship program in the transport or information technology sector. This agreement will hold a special meaning in the transportation sector of Belize; as professionals with a doctorate degree do not exist in the nation’s transport industry.

From the meeting with Korea Sports Promotion Foundation, Korea will review the possibility of adding Belize to the group of about 30 countries to send qualified candidates for a 2-year master’s program in a sports-related field.

Starting with the study tour, Korea and Belize will continue the conversations to enhance substantive cooperation in the field of public transportation. Further cooperation is expected in the modernization of public transport, bus fleet and terminal; as Belize Government has shown keen interest in Korea’s state-of-the-art bus facilities.

public transport
public transport
Korea’s modernized public bus terminal and bus fleet

Christopher Persaud

Christopher is a Transport Senior Specialist at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) based in the Bahamas country office and have been employed at the Bank for the past fifteen years. As a Transport Specialist covering the English-speaking Caribbean countries, he is responsible for the design and supervision of operations and technical cooperation financing to the Bank’s clients related to highway and urban transport, aviation and maritime transport. These operations typically include provision of infrastructure, policy formulation and instructional frameworks and strengthening with the aim of providing economical, efficient, reliable and sustainable transport infrastructure and related services in these countries. He is also involved in dialogue with the Governments on the various areas in which the Bank can support the countries transport sector. Christopher has a MSc in Maritime Civil Engineering from the University of Liverpool.

Daehyun Kim

Daehyun Kim is a secondee in the Transport Division (INE/TSP) of the IDB. He has over 20 years of professional experience in planning, design, construction supervision, and maintenance of expressways. He has worked for Korea Expressway Corporation as a civil & transport engineer since 2002 in South Korea. He has specialized in managing projects and developing overseas projects. In particular, project development under Public Private Partnership is his forte. He holds a master’s degree in transport engineering from the University of Florida in the U.S., and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Kyungpook National University in South Korea.

Seungyeon Kim

Seungyeon Kim, a Dialogue and Diversity Consultant at the Transport Division of the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., specializes in fostering dialogues and cultivating new business opportunities with clients across Latin America and the Caribbean. With a focus on inclusive infrastructure projects, she designs strategies to integrate diverse groups into transportation initiatives. Previously, she led efforts to secure funding and establish technical projects with Korean partners in the areas of intelligent transportation system, rural roads connectivity, digital transformation, and supply chain management in the transport sector. Seungyeon has expertise in developing, managing, and evaluating international development projects. Before joining the IDB, she started her career at the Organization of the American States (OAS) working for the social development of the LAC region. In Korea, she worked in a public institute and private consulting firm where she managed ODA (Official Development Assistance) projects between the Korean Government and countries of Latin America, Asia, and Africa in various sectors of Energy, Environment, Public Health, Agriculture, and Entrepreneurship. She conducted evaluation and design of international cooperation strategies for government agencies such as KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency) and KEITI (Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute). She holds a bachelor’s degree in International Economics and Law, and in Spanish Language from the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea.

Lucien Chung

Lucien Chung works as an Engineering Consultant in the Transport Division (TSP) at Country Office Belize (CBL). Mr. Chung provides support to respective Teams Leads, Chief of Operations and other members of staff relating to the Bank’s infrastructure projects. Before joining the IDB in April 2020, Mr. Chung worked a private civil engineering consultant in Belize, where he was responsible for the design and supervision of various water, drainage, and sanitation projects. Mr. Chung holds a BSc. in Civil Engineering from the University of the West Indies and an MSc. In Hydrology for Environmental Management Form Imperial College, London.

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