Fantastic Revival
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction (Chairman & CEO Kim Suk-joon), a South Korean construction company, succeeded in winning three large-scale architectural projects worth US$1.6 billion (1.88 trillion won) in total from the United Arab Emirates at the same time after the Investment Corp. of Dubai (ICD), Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, became the largest shareholder to the contractor early this year. Accordingly, the company seeks to recover its status as the leader in the overseas construction industry.
Ssangyong E&C said that it has recently clinched a total of US$1.6 billion (1.88 trillion won) worth in three orders, including the Royal Atlantis Dubai (US$840 million or 988.68 billion won), the Palm Gateway (US$386 million or 454.32 billion won), and the “A Project” undertaken by the ICD jointly with global investors (US$370 million or 435.49 billion won).
The company won the construction orders through a joint venture with global-level construction companies such as Besix, Belgium's construction firm famous for being the principal contractor for the Burj Khalifa, and China State Construction Engineering Corp., the world's largest construction contractor selected by ENR.
Ssangyong E&C will lead the construction of the major projects, and its construction portion will take up around US$730 million (859.21 billion won) of the three deals.
Although it was a joint venture with world-class builders, Ssangyong E&C has become the principal contractor. This is largely due to the fact that the company has an excellent track record and technical skills in the high-level architecture sector, including Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore. In addition, this is because of high interest and influence from its largest shareholder ICD.
In particular, the latest deals are the first movement after the ICD, which has 217 trillion won (US$184.37 billion) of assets, promised to turn Ssangyong E&C into a global builder when signing an M&A investment contract with Ssangyong.
Lee Gun-mok, director of the overseas business division at Ssangyong E&C, said, “Based on the ICD’s influence and investment, Ssangyong will expand its business areas into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East, Africa and Europe in the future, as well as contracts in the EXPO 2020 Dubai. Accordingly, we will maximize synergy effects as the only construction company of the ICD.”
The Royal Atlantis Dubai hotel will consist of a 47-story super-luxury hotel (795 guestrooms) and a 37-story luxury residence (231 units). This is reported to be more luxurious than Atlantis The Palm that has been completed as an artificial archipelago of the Palm Jumeirah. It will boast a beautiful atypical design of glass and stacked blocks. Once the project is completed, it is expected to become a landmark in the world as well as Dubai.