Celebration of 3rd Int'l Construction Day

Int'l Contractors Assoc. of Korea holds event Nov. 5 to celebrate record-breaking $50 bln in overseas projects this year

The International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK) held a ceremony to mark the 2008 International Construction Day at the international conference room of the Korea Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Nov. 5 with some 500 participants including dignitaries related to the overseas construction sector.
Heading the list of dignitaries included Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Construction and Transportation; Rep. Chung Kwang-keun of the Land and Maritime Committee of the National Assembly; Chairman Lee Yong-koo of the ICAK; and Chairman Shim Ok-jin of the Korean Association of Plant Information and Technology, among others.
Minister Chung, in his congratulatory speech, said the 3rd International Construction Day is particularly significant this year as total overseas project orders secured by Korean contractors amounted to $43.4 billion, as of the end of October, bringing the estimated total for the whole year to $50 billion, which would be the largest in history, with contract orders for last year reaching only $39.8 billion.
The minister said overseas contract orders will no doubt come to $50 billion if the current rate of orders keep up until the end of the year to bring total overseas project orders secured by Korean builders over the $300 billion level. The astounding record surely is the result of the sheer efforts by Korean builders shedding so much sweat at jobsites overseas, he said. He said he saw with his own eyes those Korean workers at overseas jobsites working hard in 40 degrees Celsius heat, drenched with sweat, when he visited a number of Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in August.
During the past 43 years that Korean builders have gone overseas to find work, the overseas construction industry has been a bulwark of the national economy, especially during the first oil shock in the '70s. Even now, the industry has been of great help to the national economy, which is being hurt by the global financial crisis.
But the industry has room for improvement as its share of the world construction market comes to only 13th, and it also has to keep the overseas construction projects at the current level or higher in the future.
The minister said the industry should diversify its overseas markets away from the Middle East and Asia to other regions including Russia and Central and South America. It has to pay greater attention to package deals linking infrastructure and natural resources projects, along with the application of IT in construction projects.
He also promised that the government will do its best to help the industry to enhance its competitive edge abroad through a cooperative system between the industry and the government.
Chairman Lee of the ICAK, in his commemorative speech, said this year's 3rd International Construction Day is a festive occasion as well as a future promise to the overseas construction industry.

As everyone in the industry knows, the overseas construction industry has been undertaking projects in the Middle East centered around plant construction and residential housing and infrastructure projects in Asia, while exploring new markets and securing a huge amount of project orders in the process. The industry has been of a tremendous help to the national economy gripped by the global financial crisis with overseas contracts projected to break $300 billion in overall orders by snaring $50 billion worth of project orders this year.
Chairman Lee, who also is chairman of Daelim Industrial Co., said the overseas construction industry will continue to extend strong support to the national economy, which is faced with a slump and an uncertain future due to the world financial crisis, to turn today's crisis into tomorrow's opportunities, taking advantage of its experience of doing its share in helping the national economy get back on the right track through two oil crises and the foreign exchange debacle.
"In order to be able to do so, we have to expand investments in R&D activities to secure a technological edge over rivals, sharpen our ability to manage risks, train professional personnel, secure new growth areas and enhance global competitive power.
We have no trouble to rank fifth in the world in terms of construction market scale if we wisely use our past experiences in combating difficulties in close cooperation with the government," the chairman said.
A total of 42 executives of construction companies won medals and other forms of citations for their contributions to the development of the overseas construction industry at the ceremony.
Vice President Park Ki-sok of Samsung Engineering Co. won the Industrial Merit Golden Tower medal from the government for his role in training new construction technicians, therefore making a substantial contribution to the growth of the construction industry, especially in the area of expanding the number of overseas construction projects, and the successful completion of those projects. He received special praise for his leadership in winning some $5 billion worth of projects from Aramco and SABIC in Saudi Arabia, which has been the most fiercely competitive ground for construction engineering companies around the world.
Managing Director Chung Hyun-woo of Samsung Corp. Construction Division, won the Industrial Merit Iron Tower medal for his role in the company's winning $9.2 billion worth of construction, civil and plant projects during his 25-years of service for the company. He was given special praise for his big role in clinching the Burj Dubai project for the company, which enhanced not only the company's image, but also Korea's fame as a leading construction country. He was also lauded for building business networks including a personal contact network in the company's major project countries including China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia, and Indonesia, helping the company's operations in those countries. He also played a big role in the company's advancement into such countries as the United States, Britain, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary and Spain. He also won credit for the company winning a petrochemical complex from the Formosa Group of Taiwan, which was a great help to the company as it came during the foreign exchange crisis in the country.
Senior Managing Director Kim Jin-yeob of Hyundai Engineering and Construction Co. won the Industrial Merit Stone Tower medal for his role in the development of construction technologies, boosting the company's construction quality, elevating the company's image as a leading builder and thereby the national prestige of Korea.
He was given credit for saving construction costs through the completion of construction projects ahead of schedule, especially during work on the Langkawi resort construction project in Malaysia as the jobsite head from 1996 to 2000. The senior managing director also was cited for his role in the development of new technologies during the construction of a pier in Kuwait as the jobsite manager, completing the huge project on time, thus winning trust from project owners for the quality of the projects undertaken by Hyundai Construction.
Since becoming manager of the civil construction headquarters in March 2007, he worked hard to win the $1.1 billion project in Kuwait to build an oil shipment floating wharf, due to the trust he helped the company win in completing an oil pier in the Arab country. Kim has since been named to take charge of the entire project in Kuwait. nw

CEOs of overseas construction companies, and all members of the International Contractors Association led by Chairman Lee Yong-koo, 1st R, cut cakes to celebrate the International Construction Day at the conference room of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Nov. 5. Minister Chung Jong-hwan of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs is 3rd R. Rep. Chang Kwang-keun, 2nd R, Pres. Park Ki-seok of Samsung Engineering who won the award, 3rd L, and Pres. Park Ui-seung of Daewoo E & C, who also won the award, 1st L, also are shown in this photo.

(from left) MLTM Minister Chung pins a medal to one of the winners of medals and citations for meritorious contributions to overseas construction at the International Construction Day ceremony on Nov. 5.ICAK Chairman Lee Yong-koo and Minister Chung are seen before the ceremony at an office for job seekers in the construction industry.