Hyundai Construction Consortium Wins '3.3 Trillion Won' Panama Metro Project Contract

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Hyundai Engineering & Construction Consortium has made its first entry into the Panama metro construction market.

On the 5th, Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced that its consortium won the contract for the Panama Metro Line 3 construction project, worth $2.811 billion (approximately 3.3 trillion KRW), issued by the Panama Metro Authority. Hyundai Engineering & Construction's share of the contract is 51%, about 1.7 trillion KRW. The consortium includes POSCO Engineering & Construction (29%) and Hyundai Engineering (20%).

With this, Hyundai Engineering & Construction has accumulated orders worth approximately 3.8 trillion KRW so far this year, including the recently won Qatar Lusail Plaza Tower PLOT 3 and 4 (about 1.2 trillion KRW), Singapore Punggol Sports Centre (about 190 billion KRW), and Algeria combined cycle power plant (about 674 billion KRW).

This project involves the construction of a 25 km monorail connecting Panama City and the western part of the capital. The construction period is 54 months from the start date. It is the largest infrastructure construction project ever undertaken in Panama, and the Panama government expects that upon completion of Metro Line 3, severe traffic congestion for residents living in the western part of Panama City will be alleviated.

The Hyundai Engineering & Construction Consortium ranked first by achieving the highest scores in all areas?technical, commercial, and financial?among global competitors in the bid evaluation announced on November 18 last year.

Notably, this project is financed through a long-term loan provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The financial proposal included in the commercial bid involved the contractor selling bonds (CNO, Certificate No Objection) issued by the Panama government to secure actual construction costs. The Hyundai Engineering & Construction Consortium submitted a more favorable financial plan than competitors by establishing cooperative relationships with the Export-Import Bank, Korea Trade Insurance Corporation, and global banking groups.

A Hyundai Engineering & Construction official said, "This project solidifies Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s position in the Latin American market. We will continue to focus on establishing a virtuous cycle structure overseas that leads from winning orders to execution and profitability through enhanced competitiveness."

Meanwhile, Hyundai Engineering & Construction entered the Latin American market in 2000 with the Porto Velho combined cycle power plant project in Brazil. Using projects such as the Bello wastewater treatment plant in Colombia as footholds, the company is seeking further expansion in the Latin American market.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.