(3) Promotion of technology research and development in construction and transportation fields

Among the important research subjects regarding construction technology, the administration bureau is leading plan promotion especially on those issues with high urgency and wide target sectors. In the “Integrated Technology Development Project” which comprehensively and systematically implements research through the cooperation with industry, educational institutions and the government, the “Development of urban system technology to achieve a low-carbon society based on hydrogen energy systems” was newly started in FY 2009 and research and development on six issues is being worked on.

Additionally, in the transportation sector, technology research and development is being pushed forward efficiently and effectively through the cooperation of industries, educational institutions and the government, for contributing to safety assurance, convenience improvement and environmental preservation. In FY 2009, research and development on four issues were worked on, such as "Research and Development on Regional Public Transport System for the next generation".

(4) Support on the technology research and development of private enterprises

As new technology development is bringing risk in terms of funds, support is being provided to the private enterprises that carry out technology development through exemption measures on the taxation scheme regarding the cost of experiments and research.

(5) Promotion of open appeal research and development support system

In order to push forward the technology revolution in the construction sector, through the “Construction Technology Research and Development Subsidy Program”, three types of public appeal are carried out. The Support System is a method for seeking proposals from the public regarding technology research and development that contributes to the sophistication of construction technology administered by MLIT, the improvement of international competitiveness, and the further promotion of research and development implemented by MLIT. The three types of public appeal are the fundamental application of research and development according to the research and development stage (to be put in practice after 10 years), practicality enhancement research and development (to be put in practice after five years), and the political issue resolving technology development (return the achievements to society in 2 – 3 years). In FY 2009, 20 new issues and 28 continuous issues were adopted.

Moreover, regarding the transportation sector, in order to establish new technology contributing to the safety of transportation institutions, the environmental integrity and the sophistication of transport services, the Japan Railway Construction, Transport and Technology Agency implemented the “Basic research promotion system in the transport field”. In FY 2009, five new issues and nine continuous issues were adopted.

### 2. Promotion of Utilization and Popularization of New Technology in Public Affairs

(1) New technology utilizing system in public construction

As a measure for actively utilizing useful new technology developed by private business operators in public constructions, MLIT is adopting the “New Technology Utilizing System in Public Construction” by utilizing the new technology database (NETIS $ ^{1} $ ). Through this measure, the achievement of quality assurance for public construction and cost reduction through the promotion of new technology development in the private sector and the utilization of outstanding new technology are expected.

(2) Support measures for new technology utilization

In order to promote new technology utilization in public construction, the drawn sample of special specifications and cost estimating information based on the actual situation of construction is being formulated in relation to the high usage need and effectiveness of new technology for streamlining order placing work.

## Section 3 – Improvement of Construction Management Technology

### 1. Enhancing the cost estimating techniques in public construction

In order to ensure the transparency of public construction, various cost estimating standards are being released. In addition, the “unit-plus cost estimating method” is being worked on for accumulating and analyzing the actual data of construction of the same nature and is being used for cost estimating calculation. Moreover, recently there have been many cases where construction projects have been bid for with a price over the estimated price. Therefore, it is necessary to cope with this and the trial of a cost estimating method that is made to reflect the estimated price on the bidder’s quotation is being implemented.

The civil construction standard unit that constitutes the cost estimating standard prescribes the standard required amount necessary for each work type (e.g. labor, materials, machinery etc.) based on the investigation on national construction conditions.

The construction progress of public civil construction may change because of the changes in social environment and construction structure, or the appearance of new methods and work types. Therefore, investigation of the actual progress is