[Asia Exclusive] "Strong Performance Expected Due to COVID-19 Vaccines and Economic Stimulus Measures"

Lee Geon-gi, President of the Overseas Construction Association
"Full Effort to Pioneer New Markets in South America and Africa"

Lee Geon-gi, Chairman of the Overseas Construction Association, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 24th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Despite the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19 last year, overseas construction orders reached $35.1 billion, achieving the highest performance in the past five years. This year, leveraging the positive factors of COVID-19 vaccines and economic stimulus measures from countries around the world, the goal is to surpass last year's strong results.

Lee Geon-gi, Chairman of the Overseas Construction Association, stated, "The global construction market is expected to grow by about 7% in 2021," adding, "We have analyzed the scale of major regional construction markets and have prepared countermeasures accordingly." Efforts will be focused not only on achievements in the strongholds of Asia and the Middle East but also on targeting new markets such as Africa.

According to the global market research firm IHS Markit, the global construction market size this year is estimated to grow by 8.1% compared to the previous year, reaching $11.9 trillion. With an average annual growth rate of 6.6%, the market is expected to reach $15.4 trillion by 2025. Chairman Lee said, "South America and Africa are new targets that need to be pursued."

The outlook for overseas order performance by construction companies has also turned positive. Until January and February, due to the prolonged impact of COVID-19, overseas orders by construction companies remained at half the level of the previous year. The cumulative order amount until February was $3.92283 billion, a 58% decrease compared to the previous year, falling short of even half of last year's level.

Since March, a clear rebound has been observed. Samsung C&T’s construction division secured a sole contract worth 1.8563 trillion KRW for the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in Qatar earlier this month. Samsung C&T will independently carry out engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC), constructing three LNG storage tanks, three port berthing facilities, and transportation pipelines.

Lee Geon-gi, Chairman of the Overseas Construction Association, is being interviewed by Asia Economy on the 24th. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

Hyundai Engineering & Construction succeeded in winning an order in Peru for the first time since its founding in March. They were awarded the earthwork and soft ground improvement package for the new international airport ‘Chinchero,’ the gateway for tourists visiting Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Inca ruins. DL E&C (formerly Daelim Industrial) signed a preliminary contract with Russian oil company Gazprom Neft for the modernization project of the Moscow refinery. The project involves constructing a hydrocracking plant at the Moscow refinery located in the southeast of Moscow, with a contract amount of 327.1 billion KRW.

The government also plans to launch an all-out effort to accelerate momentum for overseas construction orders. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will continue comprehensive support activities including high-level order support, building the Team Korea platform, and financial and investment support.

Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Overseas Construction Association, last year’s overseas construction orders amounted to $35.1 billion, exceeding the initial target of $30 billion. This represents a 57.3% increase compared to the previous year ($22.3 billion). Annual overseas construction orders by construction companies had maintained over $50 billion each year until 2014 after surpassing $70 billion in 2010, but since 2016, due to worsening external conditions, they have remained around $30 billion.

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