KoreanContractors'Overseas
Construction Orders Top $38 Bln in 2007

Official figures put the value of winning orders over $35 bln in the first 11 months of this year

Overseas orders landed by Korean contractors are forecast to surpass the $38 billion mark during the whole of 2007, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MOCT) said.
Figures released by the MOCT and the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK) showed that Korean contractors won $35.5 billion worth of orders during the first 11 months of the year, more than doubling the $16.5 billion chalked up during the whole of last year.
By area, the Middle East accounted for 57 percent of the total value of the winning orders, followed by Asia with $11.3 billion and Africa with $1.6 billion. By nation, the United Arab Emirates topped the list with $5.6 billion in orders, followed by Libya with $4.6 billion, Saudi Arabia with $3.3 billion, Singapore with $3.2 billion and Egypt with $2.1 billion.
By construction category, industrial equipment and components added up to $23 billion, followed by architecture with $7 billion and civil engineering with $4.4 billion.
By company, Doosan Heavy Industries topped the list of orders with $5.3 billion, followed by Hyundai Engineering & Construction with $3.8 billion, GS E&C with $3.3 billion, Samsung Engineering Co. with $3.2 billion and Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) with $3.1 billion, all surpassing the $3 billion mark. SK E&C placed sixth with $1.9 billion, trailed by Daewoo E&C with $1.5 billion and Samsung Corp. with $1.5 billion.
The overseas construction industry has been turning around since 2004. Korea won $10.9 billion worth of orders in 2005, $16.5 billion in 2006 and $35.5 in the January-November period of this year thanks to crude oil price hikes since early 2007.
GS E&C's $2 billion refinery plant project in Egypt became the highest amount for a single project, followed by Doosan Heavy Industries'desalination project in Jebel Ali, the United Arab Emirates. Hyundai Heavy Industries'$1.6 billion gas injection facility project in the United Arab Emirates, Doosan Heavy Industries'$1.2 billion thermal power plant project in Mundra, India and HHI's $1.1 billion desalination project in Marapiq, Saudi Arabia.
The MOCT and the ICAK organized a meeting between government officials and overseas contractors in celebration of surpassing the $30 billion mark in the total value of overseas orders for the year, held at the Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul on Dec. 3. Ten Korean contractors, including Hyundai E&C and Doosan Heavy Industries, were awarded with certificates and plaques of appreciation.
The participants of the meeting included MOCT Minister Lee Yong-sup. Rep. Kang Kil-bu, ICAK Chairman Lee Yong-koo, Korea Export Insurance Co. CEO Cho Hwan-eik, Hyundai E&C CEO Kin Jong-soo, Samsung Corp. CEO Lee Sang-dae, GS E&C Plant Business President Woo Sang-yong, Doosan Heavy Industries Executive Vice President Paik Han-shik, Samwhan Corp. President Huh Jong, Korea Rail Network Authority President Lee Sung-kwon and Korea Electrical Safety Corp. President Song In-hoe.
On the same day, Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced it landed a $920 million fertilizer plant project from Qatar. nw

Lee Yong-koo, chairman of the International Contractors Association of Korea