Overseas Construction
The International Contractors Association of Korea announced that South Korean construction companies clinched overseas construction contracts worth US$24.3 billion in total between January 1 and December 20 this year.
For reference, the total value was US$71.5 billion in 2010 and US$39.7 billion in 2007. It broke the US$10 billion mark for the first time in 2005 and continued to rise to reach US$60 billion in 2014.
The recent rapid decline can be attributed to conditions in the Middle East. Countries in the region are postponing their plant construction projects one after another due to the development of shale gas by the United States and a decline in oil prices.
The total value recorded in the region dropped from US$31.3 billion to US$9.3 billion between 2014 and this year. Likewise, that in Asia fell from US$27.5 billion to US$10.7 billion between 2013 and this year. The value totaled US$1.5 billion and US$600 million in Latin America and Africa, respectively.
Besides, the number of plant construction orders they won, which used to be 90 to 100 in 2010 to 2013, fell to 75 in 2014 and 50 and 51 in the following two years. The total value of the same orders dropped from US$51.7 billion to US$26.4 billion and then to US$11.3 billion during the same period.