Tuesday, March 22nd, 2005

JICA Monitors Seismic Risk Reduction Project Via GDLN

Videoconferencing links Japan and Romania for Technical Cooperation Project on the Reduction of Seismic Risk for Buildings and Structures

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) coordinates a joint technical cooperation project with Romania which aims to share Japanese expertise on seismic risk, improve retrofitting techniques for Romanian buildings, advise on revisions to construction regulations and codes, and ultimately contribute to the safety of Romanian citizens against earthquakes. The project team today held their first session via the GDLN as part of their project monitoring operations.

Participants connecting from the Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC) met with their counterparts in the World Bank's Bucharest office in the first of what will become a series of monitoring conferences. The five-year project runs through September 2007.

In Tokyo, twelve Japanese seismic engineering experts and four JICA interns from Romania, Peru, and Mexico were present. In Bucharest, local team members and JICA long-term experts based in Romania for the project joined the conference. The discussion focused on cost-effective methods of building reinforcement.

The GDLN allowed extensive photographic evidence to be easily shared among the participants quickly and cheaply. The TDLC is very pleased to play a part in such worthwhile projects and wishes the entire project team the very best of luck in their critical project of seismic risk mitigation.

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