Overseas Construction Orders Reach $30 Billion for 3 Consecutive Years... "One Team Korea Significant"

By Country: Indonesia > Saudi Arabia > USA
"Full Effort to Enter the World's Top 4 Construction Powers"

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (center), is cutting a rice cake commemorating the achievement of 30 billion dollars in overseas construction orders in 2022 with representatives of construction companies and other attendees at the launch ceremony of the Overseas Construction Order Support Group held at the President Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 28th of last month. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] The overseas construction orders of domestic companies have surpassed $30 billion for three consecutive years.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Overseas Construction Association on the 10th, domestic companies achieved a total of $31 billion (38.5 trillion KRW) in overseas construction orders last year. This figure represents a 1.3% increase compared to the previous year. A total of 319 companies secured 580 projects in 97 countries.

By region, orders were highest in Asia (39%), followed by the Middle East (29%), North America & Pacific (15%), and Europe (11%). Although the Middle East's share decreased from 37% the previous year, orders have increased since the second half of last year, mainly in industrial facilities.

By country, the top were Indonesia ($3.67 billion), Saudi Arabia ($3.48 billion), and the United States ($3.46 billion). By construction type, industrial facilities accounted for the largest share at 42%, followed by architecture (28%), civil engineering (19%), and services (6%).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport analyzed that one characteristic of last year's overseas construction orders was the increase in construction projects carried out by construction affiliates within corporate groups when domestic manufacturers expanded overseas production facilities. Representative examples include Lotte Chemical and Lotte Construction (Indonesia), Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T Corporation (United States), and POSCO and POSCO Construction (Argentina).

They also cited securing main projects through financial linkages such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) for developing countries as an achievement. Additionally, the amount of orders from small and medium-sized enterprises, which had decreased with the spread of COVID-19 in 2020, recovered to previous levels, which is significant.

The Ministry set this year's overseas construction order target at $35 billion based on the 'One Team Korea' strategy for major projects. Riding this momentum, they plan to achieve $50 billion by 2027.

Kim Sang-moon, Director of Construction Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Despite difficult domestic and international circumstances, these results were achieved thanks to the hard work of our businesspeople in distant countries," adding, "We will make every effort to support companies' overseas expansion through government-wide order diplomacy, active financial support, and information provision to enter the world's top four construction powers."

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