A Burning Expansion Plan

Hanwha E&C envisions expanding its overseas operation into the Americas and Asia and away from the Middle East

Hanwha Engineering and Construction Co has been setting an enviable records in its overseas projects in such areas as power and chemical plant construction, taking advantage of its abundant experiences from building a number of huge similar projects at home including the Yeochon NCC Hanwha Chemical plant and plants in the Yeosu and Ulsan industrial complexes, the company said recently.
The company attributed the success of its undertakings to well-planned “selection and concentration” strategies to focus more on value-added construction projects. “We wanted to secure the projects based on our ample experiences and technologies and maximize profits with systematic management for overseas projects,” key officials of the company said.
With 2007 as the starting point, the company got a series of huge projects and completed them successfully including the AAC ethylene amin plant worth $219 million in Saudi Arabia; the Ma’aden power and soft water plant in Saudi Arabia worth $280 million; the Arju oil refinery valued at $400 million; the Marafiq power plant in Saudi Arabia worth $750 million; and the Samra gas turbine power plant worth $200 million, which helped to publicize Hanwha’s capacity to undertake such huge projects in the Middle East, they said.
Based on the successful completion of those mega projects in the Middle East, the company plans to diversify its overseas presence to such new construction markets as the Americas, Southeast Asia and other regions in the world backed up by the company’s well-earned experiences and technologies and the ability to complete the large and difficult projects that the company won.
The company will take on gas and refinery main process construction projects, away from the petrochemical projects that the company has been undertaking, in order to diversify as well as expand its construction sectors.
The company also plans to expand its operations to other Middle East countries from the countries it has been operating in such as Kuwait and countries in Asia, the CIS and South America to explore new construction markets in those regions with the focus on power plant projects and bigger projects to stabilize its overseas operations.
The company has already successfully undertaken a number of large residential housing projects in some U.S. cities including Chicago and New York based on its knowhow for residential housing project planning and is currently engaged in building houses in Hawaii. In March, Hanwha E&C signed an agreement with Magellan Group, a famous housing developer in the Chicago area, to jointly undertake the Village Market Development Project as a builder as well as investor. The project involves the construction and management of a commercial building in the Lakeshore East Complex with 20,000 square meters of space with $57 million in investment.
The company also signed two MOUs with a consortium led by BKL, a design firm, to jointly undertake construction projects in Asia and the Middle East, and MacHugh Co. to jointly build U.S. military facilities on Guam. Through the MOUs, Hanwha E&C will be able to expand into the commercial structure construction sector and secure projects in Asia and the Middle East with excellent U.S. partners, putting itself in an advantageous position.
Hanwha E&C has been pushing its R&D projects to develop new construction technologies in such areas as general construction, civil projects and plant construction through heavy investments.
The company aims to lead the construction industry in the 21st century as a top global player by developing new technologies and new construction methods through its own unique technology research institute and to secure excellent manpower for its R&D programs. The company also plans to maximize synergy between technology development and the commercialization of those new technologies through strengthened networks.
High-tech materials and technologies for super skyscrapers, technologies to use new recycled energy in buildings built with futuristic construction technologies, construction technologies for smart highways to be ready for expanded speed for construction design, technologies to improve building foundations, technologies to expand sea coasts in the civil construction sector, ecological stream formation technologies in the area of environmental technology, new recycled energy technology, petrochemical plant and technologies for other plants are some of the areas that the company plans to study further in order to develop new technologies in the future.
In particular, the areas of high-tech treatment of wastewater and high-degree water distillation and other water resources treatment technologies in which the company has already reached global levels and are soon to be commercialized in global markets. Its technologies have already won recognition around the world, particularly in the Middle East where the company has been undertaking various construction projects, outpacing worthy domestic rivals operating in the oil-rich region.
Hanwha E&C is proud of the role it played in the growth of the construction industry since its launch in 1962. The company is currently expanding its business sectors to include financial development projects and private investments.
In addition, the company is committed to creating new lifestyles for the 21st century by applying the aesthetics of naturalism to the residential construction market.
Boasting unparalleled leadership in environment-related industries and backed up by a wide range of new technologies and in-depth experiences, Hanwha E&C is rapidly evolving into a global development and construction company with interests ranging from large-scale civil works projects to industrial plants and “smart” buildings.
Offering a full slate of construction services, the company’s top priority is to meet all the needs of its customers. The company is also committed to preserving the environment. Hanwha E&C, one of the leading groups in its filed, also specializes in private sector, large-scale, new city development projects and pioneering PR business projects.
In the United States, the company has a long history of executing real estate development projects. It has also advanced into the Asian and Middle Eastern markets, taking on a wide range of plant construction projects based on its extensive experience.
The company’s goal now is to become a leading construction company, leveraging its technologies and craftsmanship to become a true global player that helps to make people’s dreams come true. As manifested in its long and successful history of adding new values, harnessing people’s creativity and overcoming challenges, the company will continue to devote its considerable energies to working for a healthier and happier future for everyone.
The company’s projects in the United States:
Manhattan Riverside J Project: The project is the construction of a 38-storey and a 23-storey condo and rental house buildings for 495 households at the cost of $900 million.
Hawaii Hale ali’I Development Project: The project consists of the construction of luxury condos in the Kai region in Hawaii in partnership with a local developer. The condo will be 11-storeys high for 223 families at the cost of $326 million.
Chicago Building O Development Project: The project involves the construction of a 66-storey high condo for 252 families and 455 apartments for condos and lease at a cost of $310 million. They will be built at Lakeshore East in Chicago.
Chicago Village Market Development Project: The project is about building retail facilities in Lakeshore East in Chicago and a three-storey condo and apartments for 455 households at a cost of $68.4 million. nw

A scene from the signing ceremony for the Marafiq power plant in Yanbu Industrial City in Saudi Arabia, which Hanwha E&C will build for $750 million. CEO Kim Hyun-joong shakes hands with his counterpart Thamer Al-Sharhan of Marafig Co.

A view of AAC Chemical plant being built by Hanwha E&C in the Jubail Industrial Complex in Saudi Arabia due to be completed this year.