[Let's Run Again Construction Korea] HDC Hyundai Development Company, Korea's Top Real Estate Developer

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] HDC Hyundai Development Company (HDC Hyundai Development) is the top 'developer' in South Korea.

A developer refers to a real estate development company that oversees everything from land acquisition to planning, design, marketing, and post-management. Unlike project companies that delegate construction and sales to construction firms, developers handle the entire process from start to finish.

HDC Hyundai Development is taking a unique path as an innovative developer in the domestic construction industry. It is accumulating know-how in planning, design, construction, sales, management, and operation for development projects ranging from apartment sales to development projects both domestically and internationally.

◆ Introducing the largest public-supported private rental apartments = HDC Hyundai Development is presenting innovative projects that combine real estate development expertise with financial techniques.

Among these, the 'Gocheok I-Park,' the largest public-supported private rental apartment in Korea that introduced a REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust), is a representative work. HDC Hyundai Development launched Gocheok I-Park in November last year, introducing REITs with participation from both HDC Hyundai Development and public institutions as investors.

Previously, HDC Hyundai Development supplied the Ilsan 2nd I-Park as its first private rental apartment through the HDC Private Rental Housing No.1 REIT.

Gocheok I-Park stands out as a new platform suitable for the structural changes in the housing market by combining the public nature and stability of public institutions with the product competitiveness of the private sector. With 2,205 households, it is the largest public-supported private rental apartment in Korea, and large-scale commercial facilities, a complex administrative town, and parks are developed together.

In fact, Gocheok I-Park offers specialized residential services unique to HDC Hyundai Development, such as kitchen range hood cleaning and mattress sterilization services per household, concierge services including home appliances and water purifier rentals, laundry, and moving services.

Additionally, it guarantees an 8-year residential period while providing customers with various lifestyle convenience services.

With these differentiations, Gocheok I-Park is expected to establish itself as a private rental apartment that changes the paradigm of the existing rental market.

◆ Integrating REITs into development projects = HDC Hyundai Development is expanding a new platform by integrating development projects with REITs business, going beyond the traditional developer role.

Based on achievements in housing REITs projects such as Ilsan 2nd I-Park and Gocheok I-Park, REITs projects are also being promoted in Yongsan Railroad Hospital and Gongneung Station areas. They plan to strengthen operational capabilities through REITs or infrastructure funds and build a high-quality real estate asset portfolio.

Furthermore, HDC Hyundai Development plans to create mid- to long-term value together with general investors through new businesses that combine existing development and operation projects, and to present sustainable cities as a new business platform integrating the 4th industrial revolution.

Among these, a notable project site is CITOCIEL, an urban development project in Incheon. It is a project to develop approximately 1.55 million square meters (about 470,000 pyeong) of land in Hakik-dong 587-1 area, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, creating a self-sufficient complex city with about 13,000 apartment units, schools, parks, office, commercial, public, and cultural facilities. The HDC Hyundai Development consortium (HDC Hyundai Development 40%, Hyundai Engineering & Construction 30%, POSCO Engineering & Construction 30%) is responsible for construction.

This project is a mega urban development on the scale of a mini new town, including residential and commercial facilities developed by the private sector. It has been highly evaluated for its ability to oversee the entire project from land acquisition and permits to construction, including project planning capabilities for successful city development. The project is currently under land development with a total construction cost of 2.8 trillion KRW and plans to complete the self-sufficient complex city by 2025.

HDC Hyundai Development is also promoting the development of the underground space of the front park at Yongsan Station. The plan is to develop the underground space of the park site of 12,730 square meters in Yongsan-ro 2-ga 365 area in front of Yongsan Station using the BTO (Build-Transfer-Operate) method.

HDC Hyundai Development will create a park on the surface, which will be the starting point of the green axis connecting Yongsan Station and Yongsan Park. On the first and second basement floors, they will develop an underground plaza, underground connecting walkways, commercial facilities, etc., transforming it into a cultural and shopping hub, aiming to change the paradigm of urban tourism together with Yongsan-gu.

◆ Expanding overseas presence = HDC Hyundai Development is steadily continuing its overseas projects. After focusing strategically on domestic projects since the 1990s and suspending overseas projects, HDC Hyundai Development resumed overseas business in 2014 and has been steadily progressing overseas projects mainly through the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).

Following the Bolivia Vanegas Bridge project awarded in 2014, the Vietnam Hung Ha Bridge construction project worth approximately 85.4 million USD (about 92.7 billion KRW) awarded in 2015, and the Bangladesh BSMMU University Hospital construction project worth approximately 63 million USD (about 68 billion KRW) awarded in June 2018 are also overseas projects funded by EDCF.

The Vietnam Hung Ha Bridge construction project is a project to build a road and bridge with a total length of 6.2 km crossing the Red River in Vietnam, connecting Hung Yen Province and Ha Nam Province. HDC Hyundai Development started construction in 2016 and completed it in January 2019, five months ahead of schedule, through flexible project management considering local terrain and climate.

Additionally, HDC Hyundai Development is advancing construction projects in Bangladesh. The BSMMU General Hospital construction project under construction in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is commissioned by BSM Medical College, the first national university in Bangladesh. It is a 700-bed facility with two basement floors and nine above-ground floors. HDC Hyundai Development is currently finishing the structural work and proceeding with finishing works.

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