"Reconstruction Bidding Battles Persist After Shinbanpo 15th Despite COVID-19 Challenges"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yuri] Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the bidding fever for major redevelopment projects in Seoul this spring shows no signs of cooling down. The construction rights bidding for Sinbanpo 15th Apartment in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, has been confirmed as a three-way contest among Samsung C&T, Daelim Industrial, and Hoban Construction, while other significant projects are also approaching their bid deadlines from the end of this month to early next month.

According to the redevelopment industry on the 10th, the Sinbanpo 15th Reconstruction Association closed bid participation registration yesterday with Daelim Industrial as the last entrant. With this, the re-bidding for the Sinbanpo 15th Reconstruction construction company will have a total of three participants: Samsung C&T and Hoban Construction, who had already confirmed participation by submitting a bid deposit of 50 billion KRW on the 6th, and Daelim Industrial. The association plans to hold a general meeting for selecting the construction company on the 4th of next month to conclude the bidding for Sinbanpo 15th Reconstruction.

At the site briefing session held in January for this complex's reconstruction, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Lotte Construction, and HDC Hyundai Development Company also participated. However, they did not appear in the final bidding. The Sinbanpo 15th Association plans to reconstruct the current 180 households into 641 households across six buildings, from four basement floors to 35 above-ground floors, with a construction cost of approximately 240 billion KRW. Although not a mega project, it faces Banpo Acro River Park, known as the most expensive apartment in Korea with prices exceeding 10 million KRW per 3.3㎡, attracting considerable interest from many construction companies. However, conflicts related to increased construction costs and ongoing disputes with Daewoo Construction, whose contract was terminated, seem to have discouraged some companies from participating in the bidding.

The Sinbanpo 15th bidding also draws attention as it marks Samsung C&T's first return to redevelopment project wins. Samsung C&T, promoting the Raemian brand, is returning to redevelopment project bidding after more than five years since the reconstruction of Mujigae Apartment in Seocho-dong in 2015. Industry insiders are tense as Samsung C&T, with the highly preferred Raemian brand, actively enters bidding competitions in key Gangnam areas, potentially changing the competitive landscape.

Following Sinbanpo 15th, redevelopment projects in prime locations across Gangnam and other parts of Seoul are scheduled to close bids from the end of this month to early next month. On the 27th, Hannam 3 District in Yongsan-gu will close its bidding. Then, on the 30th, Sinbanpo 21st in Seocho-gu, and on the 10th of next month, Banpo Jugong 1st Complex 3rd District in Seocho-gu will close their bids and enter full-scale bidding competitions. Samsung C&T is also showing active participation in the Banpo Jugong 1st Complex 3rd District bidding. Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daelim Industrial, GS Construction, Daewoo Construction, and Lotte Construction have also expressed intentions to participate in the selection bidding for this reconstruction project.

An industry official said, "In a situation where domestic and international business conditions are unfavorable, construction companies are putting their lives on the line to win bids as prime redevelopment projects in Seoul are consecutively opening bids," adding, "At a time when 'clean bidding' is emphasized more than ever, it will be interesting to see how this factor influences the results."

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