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| Visitors watch a promotion video on Busan's bid to host World Expo 2030 in the Expo promotion hall at Busan City Hall, Jan. 3. Yonhap |
By Lee Hae-rin
Busan plans to launch special traffic measures to ease congestion during an inspection visit by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in April as part of the city's preparation to host the World Expo, the city government announced Tuesday.
Busan Metropolitan City said the southeastern port city will run a two-part alternate no-driving system from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from April 4 to 7, while it goes through the BIE's inspection regarding the city's suitability and preparedness to host the World Expo 2030. The BIE is an intergovernmental organization in charge of overseeing international exhibitions.
All non-commercial vehicles with less than 10 seats will be subject to the system, depending on the last digit of the license plate. Vehicles with registration numbers ending with an odd number will be banned from roads on odd-numbered days and vice versa.
Vehicles for pregnant women and people with disabilities will not be subject to the scheme.
Along with the no-driving campaign, the city also plans to increase public transportation services and run a quick response team to handle traffic accidents and congestion.
The city government also launched a sticker campaign with local organizations and unions to encourage drivers to attach stickers to vehicles to show their support for the city's bid to host the World Expo.
Korea will compete against Saudi Arabia, Italy and Ukraine to host the global event. The BIE will conduct inspections twice this year ― next month and by the end of this year. The final winner to host the prestigious event will be announced in November.
If the World Expo 2030 is hosted in Busan, Korea will become the world's 12th country to host the Expo and will become the seventh country in the world to host all three mega-events: the Olympics, the World Cup and the World Expo.
According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, hosting the World Expo 2030 is expected to lead to economic ripple effects of 61 trillion won ($44.3 billion) and create about 500,000 jobs.
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