# "The impending aging of infrastructure": The forefront of maintenance and infrastructure management

The Current State of Infrastructure Maintenance as Seen in the Problem of Aging Water Pipes

The sewerage accident in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, has raised concerns about the current state of water and sewerage infrastructure and its future maintenance. A national expert panel has compiled recommendations with unprecedented speed, making unprecedentedly bold proposals, such as "ensuring redundancy and maintainability," "reviewing pipeline planning and design," and "actively promoting wide-area collaboration, including technical staff," calling for fundamental improvements. We talked to three people at PACIFIC CONSULTANTS who are in charge of water and sewerage projects: Masayuki HACHIUMA, General Manager of Water Supply & Sewage Dept., Land Infrastructure Div.; Masafumi NIIHIRA of the Sewerage Design Sec. within the same department; and Mitsuru AMANO of Water Circulation Design Sec., about what specific measures will be needed going forward.

What is "Gun-Mane"?

The proportion of social infrastructure that has been in place for more than 50 years is rapidly expanding. However, many local governments are facing difficulties in maintaining and managing infrastructure due to a lack of personnel and funds. As a result, they are currently considering "Regional Infrastructure Group Regeneration Strategy Management (abbreviated as "Gun-Mane")," which would involve wide-area government collaboration and the efficient maintenance and management of infrastructure across multiple fields. Currently, 11 model regions across the country have been selected, and consideration is being given to their implementation. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS is actively supporting Gun-Mane, including involvement in all of these model regions. We interviewed Kojiro TODANI from the Infrastructure Management Sec.,Infrastructure Management Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div., and Shigeto TANAKA from the Infrastructure Management Sec.,Osaka Transportation Infrastructure Dept., who are spearheading the initiative, about the current state of Gun-Mane and its future prospects.

What is Water PPP?

PPP/PFI is a promising method for simultaneously resolving various social issues and achieving economic growth. To accelerate its promotion, the government established a new action plan in 2023. One of the pillars of this plan is "Water PPP." What exactly is Water PPP? What are its benefits? What are the key points to consider when implementing it? Representatives from Water Agency and PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, both of which are actively working on this initiative on the private sector, discussed the matter, sharing case studies.

Sanjo City's Comprehensive Private Sector Outsourcing Project

Sanjo City, which has been actively promoting comprehensive private sector outsourcing for infrastructure maintenance and management, began Phase III (5-year) of outsourcing in the spring of 2024. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS has been participating as a member of the joint venture (JV) that will receive comprehensive outsourcing since Phase II (April 2019 - March 2024), which precedes this. This is the first time for a construction consultant in the country to do so. Why did the local construction companies join a mainly made up JV, and what kind of results produced? Nobutaka INAMITSU, General Manager of the Spatial Creation Sect. of Infrastructure Management Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div. who is at the center of the initiative, along with Ryo NAKAI and Masahiro MATSUOKA from the same section, explain the story.

What is Comprehensive Entrustment of Infrastructure to Private Sector?

How to protect infrastructure such as roads with limited personnel and budgets is a major issue for local governments. One promising method that is garnering attention is "Comprehensive Entrustment to Private Sector." We spoke with three people from PACIFIC CONSULTANTS who have pioneered this field and have achieved many successes: Nobutaka INAMITSU of the Spatial Creation Section, Infrastructure Management Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div.; Kazuya MURAMATSU of the Infrastructure PPP Section, PPP Management Dept., Social Innovation Div.; and Shigeto TANAKA of the Infrastructure Management Section, Transportation Infrastructure Dept., Osaka Headquarters.

What is Urban Optimization Management®?

PACIFIC CONSULTANTS is promoting initiatives based on the Urban Optimization Management ® concept, which aims to solve complex problems faced by cities by effectively utilizing and managing their infrastructure. We spoke with Tomonori TOKITA, General Manager of DX Business Promotion Dept., Digital Service Business Div. about how it differs from conventional problem-solving methods and the expected results.

Protecting the Roots that Support Society

Have you ever thought about the underground infrastructure that lies beneath our feet? We have summarized our thoughts on the maintenance and management of the ever-changing sewerage business.