By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

The government is considering building bicycle-only roads spanning 3,114 kilometers across the country over the next 10 years and launching an international bicycle competition mimicking the Tour de France as part of efforts to promote eco-friendly industries.

The administration also plans to designate a Bicycle Day this year and redesign roads in big cities to provide a safer environment for cyclists.

``We are preparing a set of measures to promote the use of bicycles,'' a presidential secretary said on condition of anonymity. ``One of them is to build belts of bicycle-only roads around the country's four major rivers and link them to large cities.''

President Lee Myung-bak has shown keen interest in the ideas and instructed officials to carry out feasibility studies, the secretary said.

Under the plan, municipal governments should also consider cyclists when they build new roads or renovate existing ones.

``We believe bicycles are a solution to traffic jams and air pollution. Our goal is to make bicycles replace more than five percent of traffic,'' the secretary said.

Only 1.2 percent of people use bicycles as a means of transportation, which is far lower than the 14 percent in Japan and 27 percent in the Netherlands. The country will see the rate rise to 10 percent by 2017 if the government continues to improve infrastructure for cyclists and introduce bicycle-friendly traffic rules, he said.

By the end of June, the government will create a Bicycle Day as part of efforts to promote the use of bicycles. Once bicycle roads are complete, the administration can launch an international race similar to the Tour de France.

``You could call it the Tour de Korea,'' the secretary said.

The project is also expected to be a bonanza for the bicycle industry.

On average, the government can create 16 jobs by putting one billion won into an industry. However, the bicycle industry could create 60 more jobs with the same amount of cash because bicycle manufacturing is labor-intensive, he said.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr