Overseas Construction
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced on Dec. 30 that Korean builders won overseas construction contracts worth US$66 billion combined in 2014 to break the US$64 billion mark for three consecutive years.
The amount is second only to the US$71.6 billion recorded in 2010, when a nuclear power plant construction project in the UAE was obtained for US$18.6 billion. The amounts totaled US$59.1 billion, US$64.9 billion, and US$65.2 billion in the following three years, respectively.
In 2014, 455 construction firms clinched 708 deals in 99 countries. The Middle East accounted for US$31.35 billion despite the unstable conditions in Iraq and Libya, followed by Asia (US$15.92 billion) and Africa and Europe (US$8.95 billion).
Plant construction increased from US$39.65 billion to US$51.72 billion between 2013 and 2014, and represented 78.4 percent of the total. High value added engineering and services recorded a 213 percent growth from a year ago thanks to the US$440 million-worth of nuclear power plant service O&M in Britain and US$230 million-worth FEED design for the Manabi Oil Refinery in Ecuador.