Victories in Overseas Construction
The popularity of Korean builders is on the rise worldwide thanks to their high technological strength and reliability.
“GS Engineering & Construction’s residue fluid catalytic cracking technology is second to none in the world, and I would like to keep partnering with GS E&C for our future projects,” said a high-ranking executive at Pertamina, the largest state-run petroleum company in Indonesia. GS E&C is currently working on an RFCC plant in Cilacap, Central Java. In addition, the company has recently won another similar project in Da Nang, Vietnam to further increase its presence in the RFCC field along with SK E&C.
In the meantime, Hyundai E&C is building a coal-fired power plant in Mong Duong in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam. “This project was going to end up in the hands of a Chinese corporation,” a representative explained, adding, “However, the Vietnamese government kept persuading us to take charge of it, even informing us of the bidding price of the Chinese company, because of our technological strength as advanced as those of European industry leaders and yet much better price competitiveness.”
The two points remarked by Hyundai E&C are why Korean builders are winning a series of mega-scale projects these days in the global construction market. In February this year, GS E&C, SK E&C, Daewoo E&C, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Samsung Engineering obtained a US$12 billion-worth oil refinery plant construction deal in Kuwait. Hyundai E&C, Hyundai Engineering, GS E&C, and SK E&C also won a US$6 billion project in Iraq. Daewoo International, Hyundai E&C, Hyundai Engineering, Samsung C&T, GS E&C, and Daelim Industries clinched a US$3.5 billion deal in Algeria to build power plants.
Under the circumstances, the total value of overseas orders that Korean construction companies have received this year is predicted to reach a new high beyond the target of US$75 billion. The amount was US$23.7 billion as of April 25, approximately 50 percent higher than the US$15.7 billion recorded during the same period a year earlier.