S Korean Daelim wins 2-tln-won deal in Iran

SEOUL, Dec. 31 (MNA) – Daelim Industrial Co., a major construction firm here, said that it has secured a 2.3-trillion-won (US$1.9 billion) deal to expand refinery facilities in Iran. Daelim said it has received a letter of award (LOA) on the contract to improve and expand the facilities of Iran's Isfahan Oil Refinery, located around 400 kilometers south of Tehran, Yonhap News reported on Thursday. The two sides plan to sign a formal contract next month for the four-year construction project. It marks the largest-ever construction deal with Iran by a South Korean company, according to Daelim. The firm's share price jumped 2.66 percent to 84,900 won as of 10 a.m, Thursday. Daelim is South Korea's front-runner in construction business in the Middle Eastern country which forged diplomatic ties with Seoul in 1962. Since its first contract with Iran in 1975, Daelim has carried out more than two dozen construction projects there worth a total of $4.55 billion. Company officials expect additional contracts with Iran, which is rich in natural resources such as oil and natural gas.