Orders Keep Coming In

Daewoo E&C clinches orders for power plants in Libya and expects more projects

Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. officially signed a contract with the Libyan Electricity Authority to build two combined cycle power plants in Libya on May 17 based on MOUs signed in November, last year, the company announced recently.
The contract calls for building a 750 Mw power plant in Misurata and Benghazi areas under turnkey basis with Daewoo taking charge of all the aspects of work involved from design, purchasing to construction, the company said.
The Libyan power authorities earmarked $846.830 million for the two power plants, $452.910 million for the Benghazi plant and $393.920 million for the Misurata plant. Daewoo will build 2 gas turbines with the capacities to generate 250 Mw in electricity and a 250 Mw steam turbine and 2 HRSG.
Work is scheduled to start from next month with the Misurata plant to be completed in 2011 and the Benghazi plant in 2010.
Daewoo officials said the company has been put into an advantageous position by winning the order this time as Libya will likely to place orders for plant construction projects in the years go come.
Daewoo Construction is in the process of clinching a large urban town construction project in Libya shortly, industry sources said.
The project to be undertaken jointly with the Libyan government includes the construction of a commercial-office town complex similar to the Coex Mall in Seoul with hotels, convention centers, office and shopping mall. Daewoo and the Libyan government have agreed to set up a joint-venture company to undertake the project, they said.
Daewoo Construction is likely to top the list of construction companies construction capacities evaluation with 7.6 trillion won, one trillion won more than it scored a year ago, industry sources said recently.
The company ranked the first on the list for the first time in 33 years last year and will continue to keep the ranking for this year also, they said.
Samsung Construction is likely to maintain its second position on the list this year,
too, as it did last year with its construction capacity increased by 750 billion won this year. GS Construction is projected to rank third on the list, stepping up a notch from last year with its capacity rising to 6.2 trillion won. Hyundai Construction will be in fourth place with its capacity to rise by 600 billion won from 5.4 trillion won last year, in third place.
Daelim Industry and Hyundai Development will take up fifth and sixth places this year with their construction capacities amounting to 5.3 trillion won and 4.2 trillion won respectively.
The construction capacity of a construction firm is made up after evaluating various conditions in its operations including construction record, management conditions, technology capacity, and public confidence to help development project owners to choose builders to undertake their projects.
In the meantime, the company is considering a plan to build and operate a five-star luxury hotel in the Songdo International Free City Zone. The company is said to be in contact with the Sheraton Hotel Chains and others such as Hilton on management of the hotel to have 320 rooms and 24 stories tall.
When the project is realized, Daewoo Construction will be in the hotel business for the first time in the country, although the company built hotels and manage them in such countries as China, Morocco, Vietnam and Bulgaria. The company sold all of them, except Daeha Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The project is being planned due to the need for such facilities by Kumho-Asiana for accommodation of its guests and employees, especially passengers of Asiana Airlines using the Incheon Int'l Airport. Korean Air has already been operating its own hotel, Hyatt-Regency, near the airport.
Daewoo officials said the company has all but made up its mind to proceed with the project, but it is up to the management of the free city zone and foreign hotel chains for final decision to go ahead with the project.
If the final decision is made on the project, Daewoo Construction would be the second construction firm to build and operate a hotel after Hyundai Development Co. Hyundai Development manages a six-star hotel, Park Hyatt Seoul, at Daechi-dong, southern Seoul, a plush area in Seoul. nw

The booth operated by Daewoo E&C at the Construction Day
exhibition held at Coex Center in Seoul June 20.

Vice Chairman Shin Hoon in charge of the construction division for the Kumho-Asiana Group.