NEXCO CENTRAL (Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited)




March 22, 2007 Chairman Yano's regular press conference

Conference Summary

(Chairman)

Hironori Yano, Chairman and CEO of Central Japan ExpresswayHello. Thank you for gathering us.
Then, I would like to start from the current state of the business.
After that, I would like to announce and explain some topics today.

As for the business overview for February, toll revenue is 2.3% higher than the same month last year. The breakdown is 2.4% for high speed and 1.4% for general pay. Both of them are blessed with good weather, and we believe that the increase in revenue will be due to the small amount of rainfall and snowfall. Passengers increased by 7.0% year-on-year. High speed is 6.4% and general pay is 9.5%.

The construction situation has not changed.

The contract rate of successful contracts for the main types of work was 9 in February, with a successful bid rate of 80.16%. The cumulative total for the fiscal year was 81.76%.
We do not distribute materials because we are taking measures to ensure the quality of low bid construction, but we will explain it verbally.
Since there is concern that the quality of construction will not deteriorate due to rough construction and construction accidents, and wrinkling of subcontractors, etc., we are working on the following new issues this year.
First, we set the low bid survey priority price from the construction bids announced after February 15th. This is a line that crosses 70% of the contract limit price, and bidders below it, that is, below the low bid survey focus price, are asked to confirm whether it can be fulfilled at that price. It is one to rigorously investigate the breakdown and basis of the. At the same time, we will ask you to submit a pledge that quality, safety, and wrinkles will not be sent to subcontractors.
Next, from April 2007, as a measure to ensure the quality of construction at the bid contract stage and the entrance stage, we will eliminate defective / non-qualified contractors during the bidding process, especially for works with high technical difficulty. For the purpose of selecting a construction contractor, we are considering the trial introduction of a bid contract method that emphasizes quality assurance. We will make a press release as soon as the introduction is decided.
Up until now, we have checked quality assurance issues at the construction stage, but we would like to work on quality assurance at the previous bidding contract stage. Details will be explained again at the time of presentation.

Regarding ETC status, it was 69.3% from March 9th to 15th. Weekdays were 71.6% and holidays were 62.8%. The cumulative number of in-vehicle devices installed at the end of February has been gradually increasing, increasing by 2.6% compared to the end of January and increasing by 360,000 units. It seems that the understanding of ETC is gradually increasing, but the usage rate is not increasing at all.

Regarding the SA situation, it has increased by 109.9% compared to the previous year, and the cumulative total for the fiscal year has also increased to 105.6%. Looking at the number of traffic, it has increased by 7.0% compared to the previous year, but sales have exceeded it. It is 9.9%. The breakdown was a positive 9.9%, but the food and drink department was 12.2%, the product sales department was 11.7%, the service department was flat, and the gas station department was up 4.2%.

The above is the current state of the business.

Next, as the first topic, I will explain about the agreement change with the Organization and the business change permission with the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. As you know, regarding the full-scale introduction of smart ICs that have been conducting social experiments and the additional maintenance of regional activation ICs, we have changed the agreement with the Organization and have received a business change permit from the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

First of all, the smart IC to be introduced in full is in your handbook, but we will continue the experiment until the end of March at 3 places: Fujikawa Smart IC of Tomei Expressway, Enshu Toyota Smart IC, and Higashi-Meihan Expressway / Kameyama PA Smart IC, April It will be introduced in earnest.
Then, the regional revitalization IC to be additionally maintained is Hakusan IC Hokuriku Expressway. This IC is currently being constructed at the intersection of the Kanazawa Outer Ring Road and the Hokuriku Expressway, which is currently under development in the country and Ishikawa Prefecture.
Regarding this matter, I will add that the other day, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Road Bureau announced a new national plan. I have received a business permit as of today, so I will report.

Next, I will explain the opening of a new store at SAPA. As you can see, the new dessert shop and four new convenience stores will open. Of Ebina Out-bound to the famous Kihachi soft in soft cream, Tomei Expressway, Miai PA of Out-bound, of Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka Oyamada PA Out-bound Lawson, Oyamada PA of In-bound to newly opened in April a total of four stores of Circle K .. The schedule etc. are as per the materials you have. We have also included a list of the open so far, so I hope you can refer to it.

When constructing a new store, we are creating an eco-friendly store with consideration for the environment. I would like to gradually make SA a place with such characteristics.

Next, I will explain the opening of the cyber mall. The cyber mall will open on March 29th. This is a system where you can purchase products sold at SA at home using the Internet, and we plan to proceed with a business tie-up with Yamato Transport. The first is 33 top-selling SA products. This will gradually Large. In the future, I would like to develop a convenient website where you can shop not only those sold at SA but also local specialties. For the time being, there is a list of what kind of products will be sold in the material, so please refer to it.

Next is the planned discount. I introduced this at the February interview and made a detailed announcement on March 1. We started this plan discount last year and hope to gradually Large range, so this plan is aimed at improving the service for drivers. This year, we are planning to do it as a "tour of the mountains of Fenglin Volcano in Kai". It means taking the metropolitan area as a starting point and using weekdays. With the aging of the population gradually taking into consideration such points, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are the days when there are many private trips, but I am planning to do weekday planning. I will try various things to enhance the contents of the plan. Since the relationship with the inn is important, we are planning "Sokuyado" as well. I intend to make the most of our information network. The news has already been announced, but I would like to introduce it again because I would like to connect tourism and our road in this way.

Also, there are no materials available, but I would like you to ask me as a topic.
From yesterday, we started selling fast valves. Until now, we used to work at Kamigo SA, Yoro SA and Nanjo SA but we have started selling it to the east as well. It was a holiday, so it was quite a reaction. However, I think that the starting lineup is selling better, and that this is proof that it has gradually become known. After all, since I just started selling yesterday, I think that if you take time and raise your name recognition, the reaction of customers will increase. The number of restaurants that can cooperate gradually is increasing, and I would like to make everyone's patronage as a specialty of the Expressway.
We hope you will give it a try and let us know what you think.

There is no data here either, but I will introduce it because I decided to introduce a service area concierge. The purpose of SA is to positively welcome customers, but we have been doing information services so far, but instead of that, we will introduce a new method called service area concierge. Although it is the same as before in terms of information provision, we decided to introduce such a concept as a service system that takes a positive action to become more helpful to customers. Services will begin on April 1 in 7 major areas including Ebina SA. Details will be explained at the presentation held in Tokyo on March 26th.

that's all.


(Moderator)

That's all for the explanation from us. If you have any questions, thank you.


(Reporter)

Regarding the contract rate for construction contracts, please re-explain the efforts at the bid contract procedure stage after April 1, which you talked about after explaining the low bid priority survey.


(Chairman)

Once the plan is decided again, we will set up a place for presentation, so I will leave it to you for details, but the basic idea is that the construction has a bid contract stage first, then a construction stage, Finally, it will be what to do after the construction is completed. So far, measures have been taken at the construction stage, but I thought it is necessary to take measures to ensure quality at the bid contract stage before entering it. Eliminating defective / unqualified contractors during the bidding process, it is important to select a good contractor for the works with particularly high technical difficulty. It means that the trial introduction of the bid contract method is under consideration.

After the trial, it will be in production, but as for the concrete schedule and contents, we will make a press release again as I mentioned earlier.


(Reporter)

I'd like to ask about the souvenir online shop in the service area, how you started it, and what kind of place you are aiming for.


(Chairman)

One is that I want to make an attractive SA / PA that makes customers happy as much as possible, and then I went home to say "Oh, I'm sorry. I should have bought it there". I want to improve the services of both cyber malls, which can be bought even later. For SA / PA, there are famous stores such as Starbucks, Donatello's at Lake Hamana, and Kihachi Soft, which we announced earlier, and the convenience stores are also very new. Therefore, it improves service for those who come to SA. Recently, electronic commerce has become more active, and it has become possible to buy various things and reserve tickets. Focusing on the fact that the number of users is increasing, we are really looking at a few fields, but we would like to start from there and expand the range.


(Reporter)

It means that you can go to the homepage of Central Japan Expressway after 29th.

 

(Chairman)

I agree.


(Reporter)

What do you think about the measures against garbage brought into the service area?

 

(Chairman)

I also watched reports on TV and other sources, and I learned that various people are giving various opinions, but the amount of garbage generated is decreasing. However, I think the problem is that the amount of garbage brought in is increasing. Generally, the ratio of garbage brought in is 60%, so as reported, I think it is a very serious situation.

Anyway, I think we will have to do more and more to make our drivers deepen their understanding of public places. So, in that sense, I put out a poster, or I'm thinking of doing it from now on, but sometimes it is punished by the law to let you know that illegal dumping of garbage is a criminal act. I think it will be necessary to issue a warning saying that. There was a case where a group was involved in illegal traffic, but the mastermind was discovered, but first of all, please let us know that there is a legal problem with this issue as well, and in some cases, I think it is necessary to let people know that arrests of current offenders are possible.

There are a lot of things we have to work on our own. For example, use a recycling box that makes it easier to sort the conventional trash can. However, what I put there must be garbage generated from SA and PA, so I think it is really impossible to bring it from home and throw it away. Employees are always watching and there are many people working at SA. I think we need to work together to create a clean, comfortable service area and area. In terms of equipment, for example, it's no good to keep it dark, so make it brighter, attach a camera, and then clean the grassy area. After all, if you plant flowers, people will not throw things there. In doing so, we will create a beautiful service area. Also clean the glued surface. We need our own efforts, and we will tell you about it, including the penalties, on the homepage to deepen everyone's understanding.

I am very grateful to have you televised and reported in newspapers in that way. The things that the people who throw away get really fair and unfair, and I think we need to come to the point that SA belongs to everyone. We will do our best to continue our efforts, and we would like to ask for your cooperation.


(Moderator)

Unless you have any other questions, today's regular press conference will end.

 

(Chairman)

Thank you very much.