August 22, 2007 Chairman Yano's regular press conference

(Moderator)

Now we will start the regular interview.

(Chairman)

Hello everyone.
There are some topics today, so I will explain them step by step.

First of all, it is the current state of the business, but fee income is minus 1.2% compared to the same month of the previous year. It is the same tendency as usual, that revenue decreases due to an increase in the discount amount of fee income due to the spread of ETC. The breakdown is 1.9% decrease in high speed and 6.8% increase in general pay. Passengers increased by 2.2% year-on-year. The breakdown is 2.8% increase in high speed, plus or minus 0 for general pay.
The ETC discount amount is 13.9 billion yen, and the ETC discount rate is about 22%.

The construction situation is as shown here, but I will explain it in a little more detail later on.

The percentage of successful contracts for construction contracts for the main types of work is 88.17% in July, and the cumulative total for the year was 84.45%.

Next is the situation of ETC. The usage rate was 70.2% in July. The same month last year was 63.1%, which is a significant increase. Compared with the same period about a month ago, the occupancy rate on the 10th to 16th of August was much lower, at 62.0% during this period. It is about the same as the rate of use on regular holidays and is a feature of this time of year each year. Last year it was 53.9% at the same time.

SA sales were 99.3% of the same month last year. The food and beverage department accounted for 97.9%, the product sales department for 99.1%, the service department for 97.1%, and the GS department for 101.4%.

The above is the current state of the business. Here are some topics.

First, please see the material next to A3 called "Overview of Challenge V". This supplements the current state of the construction business. As you all know, I would like to summarize the current situation.
The first piece is the opening plan by 2010, and the blue frame is the section that has already been opened, the Ken-Ken-O Road. The red frame is scheduled for 2007 and is the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. The green frame is scheduled for 2010, and in the near future, the Shin-Meishin Expressway Kameyama JCT to Kokatsuchiyama IC will be the target for next spring, so we are planning to open the service one by one. I have taken pictures of the characteristic sections, so I would like you to take a look, but the next page is from Gotemba JCT of the second Inasa Expressway to Tosa JCT. Construction is underway, and 99% of the land has been acquired and there are some remaining cases. I think that you can get a general idea of the situation from the photos of these progresses, including Morimachi PA.
Page 2 shows the situation of the second Inasa Expressway in Aichi Prefecture, from Tosa JCT to Toyota-higashi JCT. With 80% of the land acquired and the preparatory work started, you can see that the work has just begun, as you can see. Next is the part from Kameyama JCT of Shin-Meishin Expressway Expressway to Kusatsu-Tanakami IC. NEXCO West Japan is doing half of this section. The east side of the Koka-Tsuchiyama IC is the part in charge of our company, but I will introduce the photos including the west part. As you can see, the construction is progressing considerably. The earthwork is almost complete and the pavement and facilities are currently under construction.
Page 4 is between Hida Kiyomi IC and Shirakawago IC on the Tokai-Hokuriku Expressway. The photos are shown on the left and right separately from Hida-Kawai PA, but the Kiyomi side on the left is under construction for facilities and pavement. From Hida-Kawai PA on the right side to Shirakawago IC, we are finishing the tunnel body construction. We have also started pavement and facility construction. Looking at the whole, it may be a little early or late, but we are working hard toward the opening in March next year. Page 5 is about the provisional 2 lanes to 4 lanes, and the construction of 4 lanes from Fukubegadake PA to Shirotori IC is underway. As planned, it is scheduled to open in 2008 and 2009.
Page 6 is on the southeast side of the 2nd ring of Nagoya, and the entire construction is underway. The shape is pretty good. Since there was a difference in the plan depending on the location, it may be early or late, but construction is underway with the completion scheduled for 2010.
Page 7 is between the Kii-Nagashima IC and the Omiya-Odai IC on the Kisei Expressway, but the entire construction is underway between the Kisei IC and the Omiya-Odai IC, and the Kii-Nagashima IC from the Kisei IC has acquired 60% of the land. The situation is that 50% of the construction work has started.
The above is the situation of road construction, and I would like to review it once and explain it. Also, if you really want to see the construction site, we would like to guide you at any time, and we would like to provide such an opportunity.

Next, I would like to introduce topics related to maintenance services.
It is a material called "Efforts aimed at beautiful restrooms". We have just started to eliminate the steps inside the hand wash, renovate it to Western style, and introduce toilet seats with washers for all Western style toilets in the future. Then there is the addition of women's toilets. The photos shown here are from the up and down lines of Nakai PA and the In-bound line of Makinohara SA. Questionnaire boxes have been set up in the women's toilets on the upper and lower lines of Nakai PA, and we have received various opinions, but to introduce some of them, 72% of people are in favor of Westernization. In addition, 65% of toilet seats with a washer. It can be seen that about 70% of both people want a Western-style toilet seat with a washer. As I wrote at the end of the document, by the end of 2010, by the end of 2010, we completed barrier-free toilets and elimination of steps in all SAs, and about 60% of the toilet bowls were made Western-style, which was also washed. I will make it with a toilet. The current situation is 37%, but by 2010 we will proceed with 60%, and finally with the next five-year plan, but the current situation is that we will proceed with the goal of 70% based on the opinions of our customers. Is our idea.

Next, about the environmental report. We have created the "NEXCO Central Japan Environmental Report 2007" and will announce it today. We believe that global environmental issues will be one of the most important issues for both humanity and the company in the future, and we would like to make environmental contributions through road construction and operation. It was
We have set up an environmental committee within the company and an environmental discussion group outside the company that gathers knowledgeable people, and while listening to the opinions of the outsiders, we put them together in a form that actually reflects them in the report. The thick one is the text, and the thin one is the summary version.
The thicker four pages describe the philosophy and basic policy for the environment. The four basic policies are to tackle global warming control, promote the 3Rs of resources: reduce, reuse, and recycle, and consider the global environment, and strengthen communication and cooperation with customers and local communities. Is the basic policy. In the first place, the Environmental Philosophy shows what we are working on. Today, we have finally announced this as a company-wide initiative. I would be very grateful if you could read the contents, and I would be very grateful if you could ask questions or comments based on it. We believe that this is one of the communication tools for us as a manager. This is the first announcement after privatization, so thank you.

Next is Large of electronic bidding. This is also today's announcement. Until now, e-bidding started in November of last year with the aim of ensuring transparency of bidding and simplification of bidding procedures such as easier bidding. Up until now, we were limited to Regional Head Office construction, but from now on we will Large the scope of electronic bidding to such things as construction offices, maintenance and service center orders and research projects. I decided to apply it from the order notification.

Next is the ETC Mileage 1,000 points gift. This has already been announced on August 10, but since it is an opportunity for everyone to gather, I will publicize it a little.
1,000 points will be drawn by lottery for those who purchased a new ETC on-board unit and used the exit toll gate within Nakanihon jurisdiction during the campaign period from September 1st to November 30th It is a gift for 50,000 people. We are doing this kind of planning because we want to improve the ETC usage rate.

Lastly, here is the TDM result report of the Bon Festival on the Tomei and Chuo Expressway Expressways. Still, because just finished, but will be reported if that preliminary summary, today Yoshikawa of the Yokohama Regional Head Office length and Imai of Hachioji Regional Head Office because it asked to come to the length, I think I'll have to explain what was what situation .

(Moderator)

So Yoshikawa Regional Head Office length, thank you.

(Yokohama Regional Head Office President)

Yokohama Regional Head Office is Yoshikawa of length. Now, based on the materials I have, I will report the results of the half price discount on Tomei TDM and Obon.

In Tomei, it has been Golden Week on New Year's Day, and this is the third Bon Festival. The first page gives an overview of the entire 9 days from the 11th to the 19th, but the result is that it is the third time, and it means that the customer drove very smartly. Traffic congestion in the tunnel has been greatly reduced. As shown in the document, daily traffic increased by 1.6% in the target section compared to last year. However, the traffic volume from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 20:00 to 24:00, which is the time zone for this discount, increased by 3% more than that, so the traffic congestion around the Yamato tunnel on the In-bound line was the same as last year. Compared to the above, it decreased by 16.6%. The result is that the maximum congestion length has also decreased by 13%. We also asked the customers who stopped by the Ebina SA In-bound line on the 14th and 15th in the form of TDM awareness. Awareness was 42%. On New Year's Day, about 50% of people know that Golden Week, and about half of them know TDM. This time, we set the discount time zone twice in the afternoon, but the question was whether the effect was effective or whether the usage was changed during the discount time period, 29%, about 1 in 3 people Was changed.
The second and subsequent pages are details for each day and 9 days. If I show you only this point of view, at the top is a rough overview of the day. For example, on the 11th, daily traffic increased by 1.9%. On the contrary, the discounted time period decreased by 4.4%, and the traffic jam size decreased by 43.8%. Below that, data such as maximum congestion length, time of occurrence, time of cancellation, etc. are listed, and the actual results for 2007 and 2006 are also compared along with the rate of change. In the graph below, the horizontal axis is time and the vertical axis is hourly traffic. The blue line shows the actual traffic volume in 2006 and the red line shows the actual traffic volume this year. The discount hours are shaded. Congestion is yellow last year and red this year.
The third page may be a bit hard to see, but it is the "congestion map" that we use. The horizontal axis shows the Tokyo IC direction on the right and the Mikkabi IC direction on the left, indicating the location on the Tomei area. The vertical axis is time. The green area shows where the traffic jam occurred and how far it came. The larger the green area, the greater the congestion. A mark is placed for the accident, and the traffic jam due to the accident is shown in red.

I think that we have finally achieved great results in the third time since we came to New Year, Golden Week and Obon. If this is firmly established in the future and 100% of them are aware of it, traffic congestion will be alleviated further, and we hope that the final goal will be to eliminate traffic congestion.
The last page shows the results of the survey on whether awareness and usage time have changed. that's all.

(Moderator)

Continuing on, I will explain about the half price discount on the tray of Chuo Expressway from Mr. Imai Regional Head Office Chief of Hachioji Regional Head Office.

(Hachioji Regional Head Office President)

I am Imai from Hachioji Regional Head Office. Thank you. From this time, we also conducted TDM on Chuo Expressway Expressway. It will be an overview from 11th to 9th, but I will introduce it on the first page of the document at hand. The traffic volume has increased considerably this time, and daily traffic volume has increased by 3.2% from the previous year. On the other hand, the discounted time zone increased by 5.3% as in the case of Tomei, resulting in a considerable shift. However, although the traffic volume is shifting as a whole, the traffic volume and traffic length increased by 39% and 17% due to the fact that the traffic volume increased significantly and the impact of accidents etc. It has become.
In addition, on the 14th and 15th, we conducted a questionnaire survey to about 1,000 people on the In-bound line of Dangozaka SA. As a result, recognition was 33%, which was the first time. In addition, as a result of asking the 33% of those who are aware of whether or not the usage time has been shifted, the result is 26%. The tables, figures, and materials on the second and subsequent pages are the same as Tomei, so explanations are omitted. That's all from the Hachioji Regional Head Office.

(Moderator)

If you have any questions, thank you.

(Reporter)

Regarding TDM, the discount time is from 9:00 to 12:00 and from 20:00 to 24:00. Please tell us why you set this time.

(Chairman)

In order to shift the peak of traffic in the shape of Mt. Fuji horizontally, the front and back time zones are discounted. The time setting will be explained in a little more detail by expert Yoshikawa Regional Head Office president.

(Yokohama Regional Head Office President)

For example, on page 12, see the time history of hourly traffic on August 16. Congestion begins around 2 o'clock. The traffic volume at that time is between 4,500 and 5,000. Congestion begins at around 5,000 Daiwa Tunnels. Once a traffic jam starts, the traffic volume to be dealt with will drop steadily, reaching around 4,200-4,300 vehicles, and the traffic jam will continue to grow. Therefore, we would like to break this peak mountain in the time zone as early as possible, so we set discount time zones based on trends in Obon traffic. For example, in the morning hours, cars that get on at the IC between Shizuoka IC and Atsugi IC or get off at the IC between Yokohama-Machida IC and Tokyo IC between 9:00 and 12:00 are eligible for the discount. Since the car that got on the Shizuoka IC at 12:00 will arrive at the Yamato Tunnel in about two hours, the discount time is set by calculating backward. The same applies to the night discount hours.

(Reporter)

Do you have an idea that it will be deployed on other Expressway your jurisdiction?

(Chairman)

For the time being, I want to go on the Tomei and Chuo Expressway.

(Reporter)

Regarding the plan to clean the toilet, it is said that the toilet will be Westernized to 60%, and in the future it will be 70% or more, but is it quite expensive?

(Chairman)

Currently, there are 4,429 toilets in the jurisdiction of Central Japan Expressway. Of that, 37% or 1,640 units have already been Westernized, but I am planning to change this to 44% or 1,929 units by the end of FY2007. It's difficult to put them all together in one go, so we're thinking of making Westernization in order from the crowded places, and for the time being, we're making plans for fiscal 2010. Of course, it will be reflected in the budget, but there is no data at hand about how much it will cost, but considering the improvement of comfort, I have to put effort into it. I think.

I think that road landscape issues and toilets are very important things, and I would like to proceed with these efforts. Although I wrote down the idea in the environmental report, I think that the first condition above all is that the road must be safe and secure, but it must be comfortable including the related facilities I think there is something like that. I will do it based on such a company policy, so it will cost some money, but I decided to do it.

(Reporter)

We will ask you about electronic bidding. Since it started in November 2006 and it has been effective, please tell us about the achievements and effects so far, and the scale since it was Large in October this year.

(Chairman)

In fiscal 2006, it was held for four months from November. About 7% of the total number of construction bids was electronic bidding. Looking at the five months from April to August in fiscal 2007, 26 out of 179 cases, or 15%. All of them are limited to those ordered by Regional Head Office, so as I mentioned earlier, there are construction offices, maintenance and service centers under Regional Head Office, research projects, etc. Since the target will spread considerably, the amount of small things will increase considerably. If you do so, you will not have to go out and bid for a construction company in the distance, so I think that the reaction will improve. We haven't decided what the number will be in fiscal 2007, but when we say the scale based on the numbers in fiscal 2006, the number of cases covered up to now was 163, but now it is 662. I will. Of these, Regional Head Office has 163 orders related to construction work, and 170 orders for offices, for a total of 333 orders. And regarding the survey, Regional Head Office 28, office 301, so if you add all, there are 662 cases. Whether there will be more in fiscal 2007 than this, but I don't think there will be a big change. Regarding how many of these will be electronically bid, we plan about 90 out of the construction works and surveys of 2.5 million yen or more, which are scheduled to be announced after October 2007. I would like to do my best to increase the number of cases.

(Reporter)

Last year it was 7% of the total number of construction bids in 4 months, but what is the number of cases?

(Chairman)

21 cases. It is 7 out of 21 out of 333. Until August of this year, 26 of the 179 construction bids have been submitted.

(Reporter)

I would like to ask you about the outline of the Challenge V plan for the construction business. Is it basically that the plans for opening each route are already announced?

(Chairman)

That's right. All have been announced so far. If there are any changes in the future, we will announce them properly.

(Reporter)

In the performance self-evaluation in the summary report of the environmental report, it is noticeable that the ETC utilization rate is gradually deviating from the target, but please tell us your evaluation for this. There is also an evaluation that the ETC usage rate has exceeded 60% and the traffic congestion at the Tokyo Main Line tollgate has also decreased to 0.2km. I would like to ask if it is not enough.

(Chairman)

The actual value in fiscal 2006 was 69%. The target was 73%, so I didn't achieve it. Although we were able to achieve all of the other goals set out in the numerical targets in our management plan “Challenge V,” the ETC utilization rate was a little insufficient. Currently, it has risen to about 71%, and the target for this year is 74%. We are making various preparations, aiming for 90% in the future.
After all, the spread of ETC will increase the convenience for customers, and of course, it will also contribute to the elimination of traffic congestion and the environment, so I would like to continue this policy without being satisfied with it. Even so, the main reason for the slowdown so far is still Sunday drivers, and the ETC usage rate on Saturdays and Sundays is as low as 62%. Weekdays are extremely high, and sometimes we exceed the goal of 70% or 74%. I think it is necessary to make efforts to let Sunday drivers who only drive on weekends know the good points of ETC. In that sense, as I mentioned in the previous explanation, we are promoting various services such as providing various services and making it easy to install onboard equipment. We know that there are quite a few people who have not yet learned the goodness of ETC, so I think it is our current task to create an environment that is easy to use and easy to use.

(Moderator)

Unless you have any other questions, the 22nd regular press conference is now over. Thank you for your time today.

(Chairman)

Thank you very much.