November 21, 2006 Chairman Yano's regular press conference

Hello everyone.
Let's start with an explanation of the business overview. There are some other topics, so I'd like you to spend some time explaining them.

First, regarding the business situation for October, fee income is minus 2.6%. The breakdown is Expressway minus 3.1% and general toll roads plus 3.0%. The high speed is considered to be the effect of Large, which is the discounted time for the spread of ETC.

Then, the construction situation has not changed from last month, but we will open the Masuho-Minami Alps on December 16th as scheduled.

The status of the successful bid rate for the major works in October was 80.5%, with an average successful bid rate of 17 cases.

Regarding the ETC situation, the usage rate is 67.0% from November 10th to 16th. Compared to a month ago, the situation is slightly higher.

SA is a situation of + 4.5% compared to the previous year. The food and beverage department increased by 3.4%, and the product sales department increased by 5.4%. The price of gasoline is higher than the general market price, so there is also a plus of 4.5%. The service sector is small, but is down about 3%.

Next is the first topic.
We are handing out materials on safety measures for the ETC lane. In the jurisdiction of Central Japan, a fatal accident occurred on June 8th. Since then, various measures have been taken, but from the viewpoint that it is necessary to take drastic safety measures at this time, firstly, at all toll booths where toll collectors etc. need to cross the ETC lane, Unless there are structural restrictions, we decided to install safety passages such as underground passages and rooftop communication passages. There are 186 places in total.
According to the policy we decided in July, we decided to set up a no-entry bar for 70 places where we thought that it would be possible to physically block when crossing due to the small traffic volume. We have decided to strengthen the measures at the 186 tolls at all toll booths.
We plan to finish the measures by fiscal 2009, and we will add 62 new facilities each year from the next fiscal year.
Secondly, make sure to confirm that the traffic flow has stopped before entering the ETC lane. I would like to take all possible measures, such as switching the traffic lights to red lights, installing cameras, and arranging traffic guards.
Then proceed with the installation of the cardless antenna. And although the measures I have taken so far have not been effective, I would like to consider measures to suppress the traveling speed of the ETC lane.

Next, I will talk about Safety on the Expressway Expressway in winter.
In our jurisdiction, there are several places where snow and ice countermeasures are necessary in various regions, including the Hokuriku region. We have a system that is available 24 hours a day, whenever snow removal is required. The area from Ogaki of Meishin Expressway to Yokaichi is called guerrilla snow with local heavy snow, regardless of the area where heavy snow originally falls. Cars passing there are often not equipped with winter equipment, and in the case of drivers coming from urban areas in the Kanto region and Kinki region, there are times when they don't wear snow tires. Heavy snow makes it impossible to drive, resulting in road closures. Especially last year, I had a hard time with heavy snowfall since December. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers. As you can see in the materials we handed out, we ask for your cooperation in preparing for non-slip wear such as winter equipment, studless tires, and tire chains, as well as road traffic information and weather forecasts. Since this November 1st, we have opened a website called "Yukiiro.com", so we can check the situation in detail even with this. I would also like to ask for your cooperation in snow removal work.
We will do our best to publicize to road users, but we would like to ask for your cooperation from a social perspective, and we have created this material.

Next is the opening of Starbucks Coffee. We are planning to open two stores. Already, Ashigara SA In-bound has opened on October 6th, but in the same way as this, we will have you create a store that is conservative in terms of energy saving and 3Rs of resources, "reduce, reuse, recycle". It has become.
We attach great importance to environmental measures, and we have an eco-shop concept at SA / PA. With the support of that purpose, such stores will open. In the current fiscal year, in addition to Ashigara SA Out-bound, Fujikawa SA In-bound even, Starbucks has become a scheduled to open.

Next, regarding the opening of Yasai Village, "Fujikawa SA Yasai Village" will open on December 2nd. Until now, we have been going In-bound Nakai PA, going Out-bound Ogurogawa PA, and going In-bound Dangozaka SA, but this time we will install it in Fujikawa SA. The store opens at 11 o'clock, and when it is sold out, it will be over. With the cooperation of the local people of Fujinomiya City, it was realized.

Next, we will open a dessert shop "Donaterouz" in Lake Hamana SA. Gelato and crepes in Italy will be the main items to be sold, but we plan to open a store next to Starbucks.
That's all for today's explanation.

We explained the opening of the convenience store by handing out materials on the 10th, but of the 20 places until the next fiscal year, we have decided to open 14 places in total, including the one announced in October. . I have already notified you, so I will omit the explanation.

(Moderator)

If you have any questions, thank you.

(Reporter)

This is a safety measure for the ETC lane. It is said that safety corridors will be installed at all 186 toll booths. How much does this cost? Also, I think that there are many cases where the communication passages are installed every other lane, but is this measure to install a passage that connects to all booths?

(Chairman)

The cost is planned to be 14 billion yen. And by establishing a passage so that it does not have to cross the ETC lane, I would like to be okay even if the number of ETC lanes increases in the future.

(Reporter)

Regarding the safety measures for the ETC lane as well, what is the antenna with no card inserted and I think that the passing speed of the ETC lane is 20 km or less, but how much is the actual condition?

(Chairman)

The card non-insertion antenna is an antenna that detects the non-insertion of the ETC card on the Expressway main line and informs the driver.
In addition, I will explain how much trouble is occurring in the ETC lane. Cards are responsible for about 70%, wrong entry is 30%, and I would like you to think about it like this. And in September, there were 95,000 cases. There are various contents regarding the cause of the card, such as not inserted, insufficient insertion, expiration or invalidity of the card. There is still some carelessness about this, and I think that as a road administrator, we have no choice but to repeatedly call the attention of the drivers.
There were various illegal traffics that made a lot of noise in the world, and the number of traffics due to nonpayment declaration was small, but in September there were about 50, and there were about 7,300 forcible breakthroughs. Since these things are intentional, I would like to try to reduce as much as possible the mistaken operation of the card or the wrong entry due to carelessness.
And the problem of speed is that I don't have any peculiar measures so far, and I'm really honestly in trouble. I've also experimented with small steps and bumps on the pavement, but the speed doesn't slow down so much. The other day, the accident at Hachioji was 44 km / h in terms of measurement, and it was 44 km when asked for less than 20 km / h, which is a pain for speed control measures. In addition to that, I am thinking of various strategies such as putting up a sign saying "speed measurement is in progress" or displaying the fact that the speed is over while measuring the actual speed, but it is quite a strange strategy. Since it is not possible to get it, there is a risk that it will lead to a traffic accident itself, so we are discussing various matters with police and other related organizations, and we are wondering if there is a good way. I'd like to report again when I can.

(Reporter)

In terms of construction, there are Chubu Odan Expressway between Masuho and the Southern Alps in December, which is scheduled to open this year. Is there any new section scheduled to open this year?

(Chairman)

This year only this section.

(Reporter)

What is the level of capital investment for the company as a whole this term?

(Chairman)

I do not have detailed numbers at hand, so I will let you answer from the publicity later.

(Reporter)

Tokai-Hokuriku Expwy What is the status of excavation of the Hida tunnel main pit and the progress of the opening of this section?

(Chairman)

First of all, I think that the tunnel is already about 400 m and it is about 350 m. We will manage to penetrate it as planned by the end of the year, and then enter the interior, but we plan to open it and start operations in 2007.
That long tunnel isn't in the plan anymore. Moreover, we are digging with the method called TBM, and at the final stage, we are at the final stage and are doing our best. There is no such big construction, so I hope everyone will take a look if they have the opportunity. It will be penetrated within the year, so I hope you can see it by the end of the year. It is the second longest road tunnel in Japan after the Kanetsu Tunnel, and there is no one of that length that is planned.

(public relations)

Regarding the capital investment that I asked you earlier, we plan to invest 349.7 billion yen in road construction and improvements, including those that will be taken over by the Expressway Ownership and Debt Repayment Organization. On the other hand, construction costs for related businesses such as SA are 1.6 billion yen. Both of them are listed in the business plan for this year, so we will give them later.

(Moderator)

If there are no other specific questions, today's regular press conference will end.

(Chairman)

Thank you very much.