NTU and KICT Forge Partnership on Sustainable Sand Mining for Southeast Asia

On 7 July 2025, Associate Professor Edward Park from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and the Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS), NTU, was invited to the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT, 한국건설기술연구원) to present his team’s research on sand mining in Southeast Asia and to explore pathways for regional collaboration.

Hosted by Dr. Chanjoo Lee, Head of Global Partnership at KICT, the visit brought together KICT researchers, hydraulic engineers, and Korean government officials to discuss the practical implementation of NTU’s newly developed sustainable sand mining technology—formally registered under NTUitive as copyrighted software (Tech Offer). The discussions emphasized deploying this system in countries such as Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, with support from potential funding mechanisms including the World Bank, Asia Development Bank (ADB), and Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) program. The visit laid the groundwork for a long-term partnership between NTU and KICT, focused on climate-resilient river management and sustainable sediment governance in the region.