ID :
195695
Tue, 07/19/2011 - 06:24
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/195695
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Seoul to open support center for S. Korean builders in Middle East
SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will set up a new support center for its construction companies in the Middle East to help them win large projects expected to be worth billions of dollars, the government said Tuesday.
The support center will open in September in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
It will be the country's first overseas support center, specifically designed to assist South Korean builders secure future contracts, it said. The center will be jointly run by eight government and private organizations, including the Korea Land and Housing Corp., and the International Construction Information Service.
The move comes as Middle Eastern countries are becoming the largest overseas market for South Korean builders. Out of all overseas construction projects won by South Korean companies in the first half, worth US$23.6 billion, 73 percent came from Middle Eastern countries, according to the ministry.
South Korea is also seeking to diversify the types of its construction projects in the region as 75 percent of its new projects there in the first half of the year were for industrial plants.
The first major non-plant construction project to be sought by South Korean companies will likely be Qatar's $46-billion railroad project, expected to be launched this year as the country prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, suffering from a chronic shortage of homes, is also said to be moving to begin a project to build 5 million housing units.
"Following the Jasmine Revolution, resource-rich countries in the Middle East are expected to launch large construction projects with the 2022 World Cup expected to fuel the construction boom in the region," a ministry official said.
"The support center will also help create an opportunity for the country's construction firms to expand their orders from industrial plants to public works and housing units."
The support center will open in September in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
It will be the country's first overseas support center, specifically designed to assist South Korean builders secure future contracts, it said. The center will be jointly run by eight government and private organizations, including the Korea Land and Housing Corp., and the International Construction Information Service.
The move comes as Middle Eastern countries are becoming the largest overseas market for South Korean builders. Out of all overseas construction projects won by South Korean companies in the first half, worth US$23.6 billion, 73 percent came from Middle Eastern countries, according to the ministry.
South Korea is also seeking to diversify the types of its construction projects in the region as 75 percent of its new projects there in the first half of the year were for industrial plants.
The first major non-plant construction project to be sought by South Korean companies will likely be Qatar's $46-billion railroad project, expected to be launched this year as the country prepares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia, suffering from a chronic shortage of homes, is also said to be moving to begin a project to build 5 million housing units.
"Following the Jasmine Revolution, resource-rich countries in the Middle East are expected to launch large construction projects with the 2022 World Cup expected to fuel the construction boom in the region," a ministry official said.
"The support center will also help create an opportunity for the country's construction firms to expand their orders from industrial plants to public works and housing units."
