ID :
55784
Thu, 04/16/2009 - 10:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/55784
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S. Korean builders gunning for highway projects in Vietnam
By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- With new overseas construction orders tumbling, South Korea's major builders are scrambling to win orders for highway construction from Vietnam in an effort to bolster their sagging sales, market watchers said Thursday.
Their new overseas construction orders plunged 42 percent on-year to a combined
US$8.2 billion in the first quarter on decreased demand from Asian countries
stung by the global economic recession, according to the International
Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK).
New orders from Asian countries, including Vietnam, nose-dived 65 percent from a
year earlier to $1.92 billion in the January-March period, it said.
"Due to the global economic crisis, South Korean builders are striving to clinch
orders for highway and other public works projects from Vietnam," said an ICAK
official, who declined to be identified.
According to ICAK, demand for highway construction in Vietnam is expected to
increase sharply in the near future on the back of the country's policy to expand
its nationwide highway networks.
The Vietnamese government has mapped out a plan to construct highways spanning
5,753 km nationwide. Between 2006 and 2020, the country will pave a total of
2,235 km of highways. Four highways spanning 231km are already under
construction.
South Korea's state-run Korea Expressway Corp. has been leading the efforts to
receive orders for highway construction in Vietnam. The company opened its branch
in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, in March 2006.
"We are stepping up efforts to win orders for highway design and construction
supervision in Vietnam," said an official for Korea Expressway.
In February 2008, South Korea's Korea Expressway Corp. signed a deal to design a
105.5-km highway linking Hanoi with Haiphong, a port city 100 km east of Hanoi
with Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment (VIDFI).
Following the deal, GS Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's
second-largest builder, won a $175 million order last December to build a 9.3-km
section of the Hanoi-Haiphong expressway from VIDFI. The builder plans to
complete the construction of the highway by October 2011.
Another local builder POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. signed last month a
$153 million deal with the state-run Vietnam Express Corp. (VEC) to build a 27-km
section of the 244-km highway linking the cities of Lao Cai and Noi Bai for 40
months.
POSCO Engineering & Construction is in talks with VEC to obtain order to
construct a 22.1-km section of the highway, according to ICAK.
SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- With new overseas construction orders tumbling, South Korea's major builders are scrambling to win orders for highway construction from Vietnam in an effort to bolster their sagging sales, market watchers said Thursday.
Their new overseas construction orders plunged 42 percent on-year to a combined
US$8.2 billion in the first quarter on decreased demand from Asian countries
stung by the global economic recession, according to the International
Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK).
New orders from Asian countries, including Vietnam, nose-dived 65 percent from a
year earlier to $1.92 billion in the January-March period, it said.
"Due to the global economic crisis, South Korean builders are striving to clinch
orders for highway and other public works projects from Vietnam," said an ICAK
official, who declined to be identified.
According to ICAK, demand for highway construction in Vietnam is expected to
increase sharply in the near future on the back of the country's policy to expand
its nationwide highway networks.
The Vietnamese government has mapped out a plan to construct highways spanning
5,753 km nationwide. Between 2006 and 2020, the country will pave a total of
2,235 km of highways. Four highways spanning 231km are already under
construction.
South Korea's state-run Korea Expressway Corp. has been leading the efforts to
receive orders for highway construction in Vietnam. The company opened its branch
in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, in March 2006.
"We are stepping up efforts to win orders for highway design and construction
supervision in Vietnam," said an official for Korea Expressway.
In February 2008, South Korea's Korea Expressway Corp. signed a deal to design a
105.5-km highway linking Hanoi with Haiphong, a port city 100 km east of Hanoi
with Vietnam Infrastructure Development and Finance Investment (VIDFI).
Following the deal, GS Engineering & Construction Co., South Korea's
second-largest builder, won a $175 million order last December to build a 9.3-km
section of the Hanoi-Haiphong expressway from VIDFI. The builder plans to
complete the construction of the highway by October 2011.
Another local builder POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. signed last month a
$153 million deal with the state-run Vietnam Express Corp. (VEC) to build a 27-km
section of the 244-km highway linking the cities of Lao Cai and Noi Bai for 40
months.
POSCO Engineering & Construction is in talks with VEC to obtain order to
construct a 22.1-km section of the highway, according to ICAK.
