2017. 2. 1

Japan Society of Civil Engineers
International Activities Center

IAC News No.52
Interview to Dr. K. Horikoshi, Secretary-General of ACECC
Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) was established by JSCE
(Japan), ASCE (USA), PICE (Philippines), CICHE (Taiwan) and KSCE (Korea) in
1999. This united organization is expceted to solve problems on development andmaintenance of infrastructures and civil engineering in the Asian region by
discussions among member countries. ACECC offers the place of that discussions byholding Civil Engineering Conference in Asian Region (CECAR) continuously. Thatis one of the motif of establishing ACECC. The present member is 13 bodies
consisted of five bodies relating to the establishment and additional bodies, IE
Australia (EA at present, Australia), VFCEA (Vietnam), IEP (Pakistan), MACE
(Mongol), HAKI (Indonesia), ICEI (India), IEB (Bangladesh) and NEA (Nepal).
CECAR is held once every 3 years. 7th CECAR (CECAR7) is the latest that held in
Hawaii, USA in August 2016.

Dr. Kenichi Horikoshi
Secretary-General, ACECC

Organization chart of ACECC is shown in Fig. 1. Executive Committee Meeting (ECM) is the highest body ofthis union and held twice every year. Financial Committee Meeting (FCM), Technical Committee Meeting(TCCM), Planning Committee Meeting (PCM) and local organizing committee for CECAR (LOC) are organizedunder the ECM. TCCM manages Technical Committees (TCs) that are set up for solving technical problems andwhose main members are from ACECC member organizations. A current Secretary - General of ACECC is Dr.
Kenichi Horikoshi (Taisei Corporation, Japan) and a standing secretariat is also located in Japan today. Japan
plays a role like a leader in ACECC and works in TC actively.

Fig.1 ACECC is managed by ECM and other committees’ meetings.

CECAR8, the next one, is held in Japan 2019. Therefore, Japan is expected to further act and contribute forsolving problems in Asian region. CECAR 8 is coming in about 2 years. However, activities of ACECC are notknown enough. So, IAC editors team interviewed the ACECC Secretary-General, Dr. Kenichi Horikoshi about
activities of ACECC.

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Q1: One of the purposes of ACECC is holding CECAR once every 3years. What is the other activities of
ACECC? Please tell us about concrete activities. If there is a special activity to which ACECC gives high priority
at present, also tell it please.
Our activities besides CECAR include: 1) Technical Committee, 2) Communication among engineers fromindustry, academia, and government of ACECC member economies, 3) Presentation of ACECC Awards, and 4)
Communication among young engineers. I would like to explain the details of these activities as follows.
1) Technical Committee: TC
As ACECC is an organization based on the technological collaboration of academic societies/institutions, TC
plays an important role. In 2001, JSCE mainly launched the first two TCs: “TC1：Asian and Pacific Coastal
Network (Chair：Prof. Wataru Kioka)” and “TC2：Integrated River Management (Chair：Prof. Kengo Sunada).”Since then, 21 TCs have been organized in total with some of them already terminated and JSCE has hosted 9
TCs. In 2016 Japan has become a host country for ACECC with the term of office for 3 years, we try to activate
TC activities. Also in 2016, JSCE proposed and launched “TC21：Transdisciplinary Approach for Building
Societal Resilience to Disasters (Chair：Prof. Kuniyoshi Takeuchi).” As disasters are common and the mostconcerned theme in the Asian region, we would like to contribute to the region with Japanese expertise andexperiences and strengthen ACECC’s presence. I believe this will activate TC activities by ACECC member
economies more.
2) Communication among engineers from industry, academia, and government of ACECC member
economies
One of the major purposes of CECAR, which will be held on triennial basis, is to exchange and discuss about
civil engineering ideas and information among engineers from industry, academia, and government who are
involved in infrastructure development. This is totally different from usual academic international conferences.
In addition to CECAR, at the time of an Executive Committee Meeting which will be held twice a year, we holdseminars and symposiums as many as possible to deepen exchange with engineers of ACECC member
economies.
3) Presentation of ACECC Awards
We have established 2 awards; ACECC Civil Engineering Project Award and ACECC Civil Engineering
Achievement Award and give awards at CECAR. The Project Award will be granted to the outstanding project
which has contributed to the advancement of civil engineering technology and development in Asia in the past
3 years, in principle. And for the most distinguished project, ACECC Outstanding Civil Engineering ProjectAward will be granted. The Achievement Award will be granted to a person belonging to a member society of
ACECC who has made a significant contribution to the advancement of international civil engineering or to thedevelopment of social infrastructure in Asia or in ACECC member economies, and who has gained recognition
for that contribution from the community for which he/she worked. All the projects and persons nominated by
JSCE were granted both awards. Still ACECC Awards are relatively unknown. We have to advertise more to add
its value.
4) Cultivation of young generation and communication among young engineers
After Japan assumed the chairmanship, we have put great effort into this new activity. Nearly 20 years havepassed since ACECC was established, generation change is needed in the main members. So we have launched“Future Leader Forum” by young generation who would carry vital role in the future of infrastructuredevelopment in Asia. We plan to make them to attend an ECM of ACECC and the related events to build their
network. In addition, we encourage the participation of many students in CECAR.

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Q2: ACECC are administrated by as many as 13 countries. What is a role of Japan among them? Please tell us
about roles for Japanese in ACCEC.
When ACECC was established in 1999, the number of members is 5 economies including Japan, the Philippines,
the U.S., Korea, and Taiwan. From the beginning, JSCE has greatly contributed to the establishment of the basic
principles, institutionalization and the management. Whenever I talk with Asian engineers, I feel their strong
interest and expectations towards Japanese civil engineering technology. In particular, Japan has worked onfields like disaster prevention, environment, transportation, and city for a long time and has many top-classengineers in industry, academia and government. These are the fields we can provide Japanese great technicalexpertise and experiences to contribute to the world.
Q3：We suppose that it is not easy for Japan to lead ACECC activities because each member has each intensionof joining to ACECC. Moreover, posture on activities, economic magnitude, religion and culture are also
different among members. Therefore, we suppose that there were some problems in the activity. What was thesolution for the problem? If there were hardships on ACECC activities, please tell us about that.
At the time of 2016, the number of ACECC member societies/institutions extends over 13 economies. As the
economic level and the infrastructure developments differ, the challenge from the start of ACECC has been how
to deal with diversity unique to Asia. The annual membership dues have 6 categories based on GNI reported byWorld Bank in order to reflect each economy’s economic level, ranging from US$200 to 2,500. So there is a big
difference among the dues depending on the economic level, with more than 10 times the difference. In somecases, as the economic level has increased rapidly, the category of the annual membership dues goes up in ashort period accordingly.
Regarding the ECM and international
conferences hosted by ACECC, we give
extra consideration to the venue and theaccommodation level to reduce economic
burden and provide financial support by
setting a rule. In particular, in the
CECAR8 which will be held in Tokyo in
2019, we would like to give
ACECC Executive Committee Meeting (25th ECM, Jakarta, August 2013)
consideration to the participation fee,accommodation, and the schedule so that every economy which is interested in improvement and developmentof infrastructure can afford to participate.
In addition, for mutual visits by ACECC member economy, when a visa is difficult to get because of strict visa
requirements, ACECC Secretariat try hard to support so that ACECC members will not face with a difficulty inparticipating ACECC events.
Q4: CECAR 8 is held in Japan 2019. Please tell us what you expect to that.
The Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR) is the largest-scale conference in that region
which will be held on triennial basis. It will be the second time to be held in Japan after 18 years since it washeld in Tokyo in 2001. As the year 2019 is one year before the Tokyo Olympics, it will be a good opportunity tointroduce the construction progress of Olympic related facilities and infrastructure development as well as toappeal recovery from damage due to the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred 8 years ago. Also in 2019 ACECC
will celebrate its 20th anniversary of foundation, reach a major milestone for the future.

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Different from other international conferences, in CECAR,
leaders from industry, academia, and government who
engage in infrastructure development get together anddiscuss the future of infrastructure in Asia. While eachacademic society/institution undertakes the responsibility
for international conferences regarding individual
academic field, in CECAR, the latest technology,
knowledge, and experiences are discussed in a crosssectional way by the specialists from industry, academia,
and government.
CECAR also provides an important opportunity to gather
all presidents of ACECC member economies (13economies at present) and send a message agreed toward
the world. I’m sure this will enhance the appeal of joining
ACECC and lead to increase membership more and more.

Leaflet for introducing CECAR8(distributed at CECAR7 in Hawaii 2016)

Participation Report on the 7th CECAR
From August 31 to September 2, 2016, the 7th Civil Engineering Conference in the Asian Region (CECAR 7)
was held by the Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council (ACECC) in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The
ACECC was launched in September 1999 as a coalition organization to coordinate civil engineering-related
academic societies and associations in the Asian region. The ACECC, presently having 13 member organizations,plays a key role in discussing and solving problems relating to the improvement of infrastructure and civilengineering technologies in the Asian region.
The CECAR is an international conference held every three years, where leading members of industry,
government and academia, including presidents of academic societies and associations, gather together. CECAR
7, the seventh conference, was held under the auspices of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) with
388 participants from 29 countries.
CECAR 7 opened
with speeches by Mr.
Udai P. Singh, Chairof the Conference
Steering Committee,
and by Ms. Tulsi
Gabbard,U.S.
Congresswoman.
Photo 1: Opening ceremony
Next,
Dr.
Ishii
Yumio, vice presidentof the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and a former president of the Japan Society of
Civil Engineers, gave a talk on the Kyoto Statement adopted at the 5th World Engineering Conference andConvention (WECC2015). (Photo 1)
Six programs were presented by guest speakers from the ACECC. Professor Isobe Masahiko from Japan, whois the president of Kochi University of Technology and a former president of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers,
delivered a talk under the title of "2011 Great East Japan Earthquake Tsunami and Future Nankai TroughEarthquake Tsunami – Experience and Preparation."4

In the organized session planned and operated by academic societies and associations belonging to the ACECC,
the Member Society and Technical Committee (TC) of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers was assigned tohandle the tsunami session, in which Prof. Takahashi Tomoyuki from Kansai University played a central role inraising the profile of Japan’s advanced technologies for tsunami disaster prevention.
In the general lectures, 220 research presentations were given in the form of poster sessions and speeches at six
sites. Of these, 84 were presented by Japanese participants, the largest number of presentations among theparticipating countries. In addition, the results of TC activities led by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers werereported in programs such as special sessions.
The ACECC has established the
ACECC Civil Engineering
Project Award and ACECC
Civil Engineering Achievement
Award, and holds an award
ceremony at the CECARs. The
ACECC Civil Engineering
Project Award is presented to a
project that has made a
Photo 2: Presentation of ACECC awards (middle in left photo: Mr. Namikawa fromremarkable contribution to the
Shutoko, right: Dr. Sumiyoshi)
progress of civil engineering andthe development of Asia during the last three years or so. This time, "Construction of the Yamate Tunnel on theCentral Circular Route” by Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited (aka Shutoko) and four other projects
nominated by other countries received the prize. Meanwhile, the ACECC Civil Engineering Achievement Awardis presented to an individual who has made a remarkable contribution to the progress of international civilengineering and the social capital development of Asian countries or ACECC member countries. Dr. Sumiyoshi
Yukihiko (advisor to the Japan Bridge Bearing Association and former director-general of the Public Works
Research Institute) nominated by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers and three other persons received the prize(Photo 2).
The next conference, CECAR 8, will be held in Tokyoin 2019 and will be managed by the Japan Society of
Civil Engineers as the host organization. In theclosing ceremony on the final day, ASCE President
Mark Woodson handed over the ACECC flag to JSCE
President Tashiro Tamiharu, thus completing thepassing of the baton from ASCE to JSCE (Photo 3).
The ACECC is not merely an integrated organizationof academic societies but is a unique organization thatforges collaborative relationships with decisionmakers of participating countries and financial
Photo 3: Closing ceremony (left: ASCE President
institutions, with the aim of improving social capital
Woodson, middle: JSCE President Tashiro, right: ACECC
in Asia. The Japan Society of Civil Engineers has
President Kusakabe)begun preparing for CECAR 8 with the goal oforganizing an international conference that will convey and share its visions.

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Report on Japanese Civil Engineers the Global Leaders Symposium
Series No. 8– Algeria’s East-West Motorway Construction Project –On November 30, 2016, “Japanese Civil Engineers the Global
Leaders Symposium Series No. 8: Algeria’s East-West
Motorway Construction Project” was held at the Main
Conference Room in the basement of Kajima KI Building
under the auspices of the International Activities Center, with
about 300 participants.
After the opening remarks by Dr. Tamiharu Tashiro, presidentof the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE), a video
message from Mr. Seiya Fujiwara, Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Algeria, was shown. In
Audience listen to a video message from Mr. Seiya
the video, the ambassador first introduced the country of
Fujiwara, Ambassador Extraordinary andAlgeria, and then explained the roles of Algeria’s East-West
Plenipotentiary to Algeria.
Motorway with reference to the relation between Japan andAlgeria. He also referred to the fact that Prime Minister Abe had announced 30 billion dollars in assistance atthe “Tokyo International Conference on African Development” (TICAD) held in Kenya in August 2016, andcalled for civil engineers’ active participation in the export of high-quality infrastructure.
After the video presentation, nine engineers and personnel in charge of the contract from Kajima Corporation
and Taisei Corporation, joint venture partners of Algeria's East-West Motorway Construction Project, explained
the contents and background of the project from 2006 to 2016.
An overview of the project and subsequent introduction of its difficulties revealed that they had faced a wide
range of challenges. Physically, with a length of approximately 400 km, supervision of entire construction work
proved difficult. This was of particular concern given that frequent terrorist attacks also made it necessary to
carry out the construction under tight security. Another challenge came from the design work, which was
unfinished and conducted based on incomplete survey data, requiring it to be redone from scratch. The contract
itself posed a number of challenges, including the fact that it was written in French and the language of the courts
and government was Arabic. The owner and contractor also engaged in many disputes based on their differinginterpretations of the contract. Additionally, there were financial complications due to the client’s budgetary
constraints making it difficult for the client to accept budget increases.
The next part of the day’s program focused on the construction work, for which Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) Construction was adopted, based on its evaluation at the time of bidding. Difficulties wereexplained in this part of the program as well and were clearly illustrated through videos and photos. Such
construction difficulties included: securing surface aggregate for paving in Algeria, as the soil construction site
was primarily composed of limestone; soil deformation that occurred in tunnels that were excavated in area
consisting of claystone; and frequent landslides during earthmoving works.
In the following part of the program, the contract disputes, arbitration process and conclusion of the contract
were described in detail. In order to deal with the contractual problems, the contractor set up a claims team in2009 in the middle of the construction work and filed many claims to the owner; however, the owner issued anotice of cancellation of the contract. In response, the contractor was compelled to request arbitration by theInternational Court of Arbitration. The program went on to explain that since Algeria agreed to address this issue
by settlement rather than arbitration, negotiations for a settlement started, and finally, about 10 years after thecommencement of construction in 2006, the two parties reached an agreement to amicably terminate the contract
with the support from the local Japanese Embassy.
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Finally, the symposium closed with concluding remarks by Dr. Yukihiro Tsukada, Executive Director of JSCE,
after which the attendees joined a final party and exchanged opinions.
The symposium provided information on this large uncompleted project which had not been revealed in the past,
and attracted great interest from those present. The presenters freely talked about the struggles they experienced
and their memories, which made the symposium, scheduled to last three and a half hours, very meaningful. The
International Activities Center will continue to hold symposiums discussing overseas projects in the future andlooks forward to welcoming many participants at the next symposium.
【Reported by Yoshiaki Higuchi (Oriental Consultants Co., Ltd.), Group leader, Project Group, IAC】

Report on The 1st JSCE-CCES Joint Symposium
The 1st JSCE-CCES* Joint Symposium of Civil Engineering-Bridge and Tunnel-, was held on October 21-24,
2016 in Tokyo. The main topic of the symposium is the sustainable development of bridge and tunnel engineeringin both countries. Great attention has been paid to planning, design and construction of new projects, operation,
maintenance and renewal of existing facilities, and new materials used in infrastructure construction. Special
concern was focused on the modernized information and intelligent technologies in the bridge and tunnel
construction and maintenance. Some big projects carried out in China nowadays were also introduced during the
symposium. It is commonly admitted that the sustainable development of infrastructure should be based on
global viewpoint. For this reason, this symposium is successful in providing a professional platform for the
researchers and engineers from both sides of Japan and China to discuss and exchange the ideas and concernson the newest developments in bridge and tunnel engineering. (* China Civil Engineering Society)
The conference topics are as follow(1) Risk evaluation of bridge and tunnel construction and corresponding future development in transportation(2) Seismic and anti-wind designs for long-span bridge and corresponding construction techniques(3) Design for long-span seabed immersed tunnel and corresponding construction techniques(4) TBM construction techniques for non-circle or huge-diameter tunnels(5) Monitoring techniques for bridge and tunnel during the construction or after the operation(6) Advanced maintenance, curing and enhancing techniques for bridge and tunnel
During the symposium, one special lecture and four keynote lectures were given and some relevant photos areshown in Photo 1. The detailed contents are listed below:
Special lecture
Dr. Miyahara Masanobu, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
Topic: Outline of International Linear Collider Project - Current Status of Underground Facilities Design
Keynote Lectures(1) Prof. Ge, Yaojun, Tongji University, China
Topic: Evolution and Challenge of Long-Span Bridges in China(2) Prof. Sugimoto, Mitsutaka, Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan
Topic: Analysis on Ground Movement due to Shield Tunneling based on Displacement Boundary(3) Prof. Li, Yongsheng, Tongji University, China
Topic: Challenge and application of huge shield tunneling technology(4) Dr. Nagamoto, Naoki, Sumitomo Mitsui Construction, Japan
Topic: Innovation for Prestressed Concrete Bridge

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Withinthe
two-day
symposium, there were twoparallel sessions, one for
Tunnel and another forbridge. All special andkeynote lectures are given in
main hall and 10 parallelsession
presentation
sessions were given in
separated conference rooms.
Photo 1: Scenes in keynote lectures (Left) Keynote lecture by Prof. Yongsheng Li,(Right) Discussion by Prof. Tamon Ueda
62 participants (39 fromJapan side and 23 from
China side) attend the conference and 53 session
reports (30 from JSCE side and 23 from CCES side)
were given. Due to the length limitation of report, we
can’t give more detailed introduction to thesepresentations, but can confidently say that the
symposium was a great success. Both sides knew a lotof things from each other. For instance, on the Chineseside, many big projects constructed nowadays in China
were introduced and some new trends in Japan, forinstance, the long-term maintenance were introduced.
The symposium definitely enhanced the mutual
understand friendship between the two societies. Photo
Photo 2: All participants of the symposium
2 shows the photo of the all participants at the closing
ceremony.
After the symposium, technical visit was organized, and 13 participants, all from the Chinese side, visited theconstruction site at Namamugi Junction of Metropolitan Expressway Company Limited. The Namamugi
Junction has both the bridge and tunnel constructions, a most suitable site for the symposium. All the participants
showed great interests on the site and looked very carefully about the detail of the constructions. All theparticipants highly evaluated the quality of the project. Photo 3 shows some scene of the technical visit.
The
symposiumwas
prepared for almost one andhalf years. If considering
the fact that this is the firsttime for JSCE and CCES toorganize such kind of
bilateral symposium, thepreparing works should betime consuming and needs
great efforts. Thanks to the
Photo 3: Technical visit to Namamugi Construction site
(Left) CCES participants attended site visit
organizers and participants(Right) Careful check on quality of project by Chinese participants
from
both
societies,
numerous difficulties were overcome and the first step, also can be called as a great leap, was forward
successfully. Appreciation should also be given to those persons who supported the symposium in all relevant
events.
【Reported by Prof. Cho Ho (Nagoya Institute of Technology)】

8Updates◆The summary of feature articles in the February 2017 issue of the JSCE Magazine is available on the JSCE
website.
http://www.jsce-int.org/pub/magazine◆Five projects introduced in the booklet “TRANSFER OF CIVIL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY INSERVICE” issued at the time of the 100th year anniversary of JSCE can be viewed on the JSCE Website.
http://www.jsce.or.jp/e/archive◆Journal of JSCE
The Journal of JSCE is the collection of research papers which can be viewed on the JSCE website.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/browse/journalofjsce◆Disaster Fact Sheet
http://committees.jsce.or.jp/disaster/◆IAC Students and Alumni Network
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