◆ Clearing of brushwood on the Iki site completed, progress towards construction of the inclined shaft base
Following work in October, the clearing of brushwood at the planned Iki inclined shaft base site, which is located along the route of the Japan-Korea Tunnel, was carried out by Iki site director and three other people over three days from December 1st to 3rd. Unlike the summer work, there were no struggles with bees or ants, but despite battling strong cold winds and light snow blowing in from the Tsushima Strait, the work of clearing brushwood with chainsaws and pruning branches progressed smoothly, and the work was completed. A bird's-eye view of the entire site was now available, and cars passing by on the prefectural road could also be seen. By the time the work was finished, the sun's rays, which occasionally peeked through the clouds, illuminated the site brightly.
The tunnel site seen from the prefectural road.
The trees have been left standing to protect the environment and reduce noise, making it difficult to see from the road.
This allowed us to move from the rough blueprint stage to the stage of surveying and deciding on the layout of the mine entrance, road for workers, site office, parking lot, etc. The site is terraced in five levels, and we were able to visualize a site map in which work vehicles would enter through an entrance that was easily accessible from the general prefectural road, with the site office being built in the second level, followed by the mine entrance, and then burying the waste at the lowest point.
With the cutting of brushwood complete and surveying for the construction of an exploration tunnel to begin next year, the three inclined shaft bases on the Japanese side will now be visible, following the Nagoya Inclined Shaft in Karatsu, which has already been excavated to a depth of 600m, and the Aren Inclined Shaft in Tsushima, which held its opening ceremony for its entrance in September this year. By connecting the "points into a line," this project has finally entered a stage where it can be shown not only to Japan and Korea, but to Asia and the world. The Japan-Korea Tunnel will send a concrete plan for world peace from Far East Asia to the world.
The Iki site had been prepared from an early stage, but because it was the last site to be developed in the construction schedule, the site was overgrown with weeds. After completing this work, the chairman said, "We now have 70,000 tsubo (approximately 66,000 m2) of land for the Iki Incline Shaft Base. Combined with the 20,000 tsubo (approximately 125,000 m2) of land for the Karatsu Base and the 100,000 tsubo (approximately 130,000 m2) of land for the Japan-Korea Tunnel, the foundations for the tunnel are now complete," and his eyes sparkled as he looked forward to full-scale development starting next year.
The planned site for the site office has been cleared of weeds, giving it a clear view.
