Developing new city in Bolivia
Korean companies are expected to lead a project in Bolivia, South America, to develop a new city that will be three times the size of Bundang city of Korea.
According to Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) and construction industry sources, the Korea Engineering Consultants Corp. (KECC) awarded an order for master plan for Santa Cruz New City Project in Bolivia last year and other domestic companies are highly likely to win a contract for design work as well.
Led by a local private real-estate developer GEL, it is a US$730 million (847.53 billion won) project to establish a new town on a location 15 kilometers northeast of Santa Cruz. The new town covers 5,778 hectares, three times the size of Bundang. With support from the International Urban Development Cooperation Center, established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and LH, the KECC won the order for a basic plan implementation project in November last year, and completed its master plan, soil research, site plan, earthwork review and plan, material procurement, city basic design in June this year. In a bid to carry out the project smoothly, the developer has currently come up with three proposals for work design, including solo performance of Korean company and joint performance of Korean and Bolivian companies, and is also in the process of estimating costs to shorten construction time.
Work design involves preparing a set of specific plans based on the master plan. Once the plans are completed, a constructor is selected to begin construction. The developer is currently considering Korean companies to participate in the work design sector as well, possibilities are high for Korean companies to carry out the construction, which will account for most expenses in the future.
An official from the industry said, “Due to their wide experience, Korean companies are receiving positive reviews from the developer. If Korean companies win an order for work design, they are also more likely to be chosen for construction. Then, we will write history again to build a new city in South America in our hands.”