The First Salesperson Supporting a 3.2 Trillion Won Plant Order... Saudi Arabia's Annual Order Volume Reaches 11.6 Trillion Won (Comprehensive)

Yoon Attends 50th Anniversary Ceremony of Korea-Saudi Construction Cooperation
Hyundai Engineering & Hyundai Construction Win Largest Middle East Shale Gas Plant Contract
Saudi Construction Orders Total $8.6 Billion This Year
'Digital Platform Government Export No.1' Including Digital Twin Platform Contract

During his state visit to Saudi Arabia, President Yoon Suk-yeol met with Korean-Saudi construction companies on the 23rd (local time) and stated, "Building on the solid foundation that Korea and Saudi Arabia have established, we must jointly open the future of new infrastructure economic cooperation that responds to technological changes and the demands of the times." On the occasion of President Yoon's state visit, a total of four infrastructure contracts and MOUs (Memoranda of Understanding) were signed between Korean companies and Saudi clients. According to the Presidential Office, these contracts have secured overseas construction orders worth a total of $8.6 billion in Saudi Arabia this year alone.

On the same afternoon, President Yoon attended the '50th Anniversary Ceremony of Korea-Saudi Construction Cooperation' (subtitled 'From Al-Ula-Kaiba to NEOM') held at the Riyadh NEOM Exhibition Hall, where discussions were held to strengthen urban and infrastructure cooperation between the two countries.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, delivers a commemorative speech at the Korea-Saudi Construction Cooperation 50th Anniversary Ceremony held at the NEOM Exhibition Hall in Riyadh on the 23rd (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

This event was organized to commemorate 50 years since 1973, when Samhwan Corporation became the first Korean company to win the Al-Ula-Kaiba highway project in Saudi Arabia (approximately $20 million), and to present a future vision to expand cooperation into advanced future cities such as NEOM City and digital infrastructure sectors. The event was attended by Saudi officials including Majed bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Hogail, Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing of Saudi Arabia; Amin Nasser, CEO of Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company; Nadmi Al Nasr, CEO of NEOM Company; as well as representatives from Korean construction companies such as Samsung C&T and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, and IT companies including Naver and KT.

Notably, during the event, under the presence of President Yoon, contracts were signed for ▲ Jafura 2 Gas Plant Package 2 project (approximately $2.4 billion, KRW 3.25 trillion) ▲ Digital Twin platform construction and operation ▲ Establishment of a joint venture for modular business cooperation MOU ▲ Digital infrastructure construction MOU.

The Jafura 2 Gas Plant Package project contracted this time involves Hyundai Engineering & Construction and Hyundai E&C constructing a plant to refine natural gas in the Jafura region, the largest shale gas reserve in the Middle East owned by Saudi Aramco. This is another achievement following the Amiral project (approximately $5 billion), resulting from the trust between the two heads of state that has continued since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Korea last November.

Naver and the Saudi Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing also agreed to jointly build a platform that creates a virtual digital twin identical to the real spaces of five Saudi cities, which can be used for urban planning and management, flood prediction, and more. This is the first export project of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's 'Digital Platform Government,' marking the first step in expanding Korea's overseas construction ventures beyond physical infrastructure into digital spaces.

With these contracts, the Korean government has secured a total of $8.6 billion in overseas construction orders in Saudi Arabia this year alone. This amount represents one-third of the total overseas construction orders of $25.9 billion this year and is 2.5 times the average annual orders of $3.4 billion in Saudi Arabia over the past five years. Moreover, it signifies the establishment of a foundation for actively participating in mega projects such as NEOM through expanded construction and infrastructure cooperation between the two countries. NEOM is a project to build a 170 km linear vertical city called 'The Line,' in which Korean companies are currently involved in constructing approximately 30 km of tunnels connecting the coastal area and NEOM Airport.

Additionally, contracts worth a total of $25 billion for six projects including tunnels, building structures, and ports in NEOM City are being pursued, with further achievements expected by next year. Among these, Samsung C&T and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) agreed to establish a joint venture for smart construction, including modular buildings and construction automation. Starting from the end of next year, a factory producing modular structures will be newly built and applied first to NEOM City construction, with prospects to participate in the Roshn project, a $42 billion project to build one million housing units across Saudi Arabia.

At the event, President Yoon, in his 50th anniversary commemorative speech for Korea-Saudi relations, highly praised past cooperation, stating, "The efforts of our Korean entrepreneurs and workers are embedded in over 1,900 projects across Saudi Arabia." He added, "Building on the solid foundation that Korea and Saudi Arabia have established, we must jointly open the future of new infrastructure economic cooperation that responds to technological changes and the demands of the times," and presented a vision that "if Korea combines its advanced urban construction capabilities with projects like NEOM City being promoted by Saudi Arabia, the two countries can jointly present a new model for future cities."

Meanwhile, at the subsequent event, President Yoon toured exhibits introducing projects such as The Line at the NEOM Exhibition Hall, guided by NEOM CEO Nadmi Al Nasr. He then exchanged opinions with attendees on ways to deepen cooperation between companies from both countries.

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