Samsung C&T named top S. Korean builder in 2016

SEOUL, July 28 (Yonhap) -- Samsung C&T Corp., the largest builder in South Korea in terms of sales, has been named the best builder in terms of building capacity, the government said Thursday. The construction unit of the country's top conglomerate Samsung was ranked top among 56,067 local construction firms evaluated, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Those evaluated account for about 90 percent of 62,533 construction firms here. Samsung C&T took the top position for the third consecutive year since 2014. The company's construction capacity was valued at 19.37 trillion won (US$17.09 billion), greatly surpassing runner-up Hyundai E&C Co. with an estimated capacity of about 13.28 trillion won, the ministry said in a press release. The capacity gap between Samsung and Hyundai widened from 3.9 trillion won a year earlier after Samsung C&T merged with a smaller affiliate, Cheil Industries Co. whose market value stood at 1.8 trillion won shortly before the merger. The two top builders were followed by POSCO E&C, the construction arm of global steelmaker POSCO, whose construction capacity was evaluated at 9.97 trillion won, and Daewoo E&C at 9.49 trillion won. The annual evaluation of construction firms seeks to offer a reference to government offices, local firms and private individuals when choosing a builder for their projects. The ranking system is also used to bar top builders from government projects that are deemed too small for them, according to the ministry. bdk@yna.co.kr (END)