Global Project Plaza 2017 provides a timely boost for
Korea’s reputation as a construction powerhouse
What do Marina Bay Sands,
Keangnam Hanoi Land-
mark Tower and Telekom
Malaysia have in com-
mon? Aside from being the most iconic
landmarks in Asia, these famous buildings were all constructed by South
Korean companies. As such, Korean
companies have long been known for
their building prowess, but with orders for
overseas construction projects having
plunged by 58 percent during the past two
years in Korea, the government is setting
out to help related companies develop
new export markets.
The Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) is also doing
its part to support Korean companies
clinch deals this year, kicking off Global
Project Plaza (GPP) 2017 on April 18.
Held in Lotte Hotel World in Seoul, the
three-day event was hosted by the
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
and organized by KOTRA. Since its
launch in 2008, GPP has helped 3,700
Korean companies build close partnerships with over 1000 foreign project owners and government officials. This year’s
plaza introduced projects worth KRW
111 trillion (USD 96.8 billion) and was
comprised of forums, project seminars
and one-on-one project consultations. The
event helped solve some of the questions
Korean companies had about overseas
projects, and increased the chances for
achieving tangible results.
“Up until recently, we focused
heavily on doing business in the Middle East and
Asia, but we’re diversifying our export
markets by partnering up with companies
in South America and Africa as well,”
said KOTRA’s Vice President Seog Ki
Sun during his welcoming remarks.
“Events like GPP provide opportunities
for us to strengthen cooperation, especially as Korea is home to the world’s most
advanced construction technology.”
To help both foreign and Korean companies get a better understanding of the
world economy, KOTRA invited Rajiv
Biswas, Asia-Pacific Chief Economist of
IHS Markit, a global consulting firm.
According to Biswas, the global growth is
expected to pick up from 2.5 percent in
2016 to 2.9 percent in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018, led by the United States and
commodity-exporting regions. In regards
to the Asia-Pacific region, he emphasized
the emerging Asian
consumption growth
will be the key
global growth engine. His
presentation also took a closer look at
Korea’s smart cities with Songdo being a
key example. Songdo, built from scratch
on reclaimed land in Incheon, is being
hailed as the world’s first smart city.
Biswas predicts that innovative cities like
Songdo will serve as a major model for
other regions that want to become just as
eco-friendly and sustainable.
Unlike previous GPP events, major
U.S. and European EPC (engineering,
procurement, construction) companies
participated in two roundtable discussions
this year. In particular, leading construction companies from Spain participated in
the Korea-Spain roundtable discussion
and partnering meetings, talking with
Korean companies on how they might
together enter markets in the Middle East
and Central and South America.
One company that was able to
strengthen cooperation with a number
of
Korean businesses through one-on-one meetings was Saudi Arabia's Saline Water
Conversion Corporation (SWCC). SWCC
is responsible for the desalination of seawater producing electric power and
supplying various regions in the Kingdom
with desalinated water. "Korean companies have a competitive price advantage,"
said SWCC Manager Ali Al Shuqair.
"Korean companies generally offer lower
prices than European companies and have
great technological skills."
Meanwhile, to help plant equipment
SMEs expand their overseas export market, large EPC firms have stepped forward. At a meeting organized by the
Korea Plant Industries Association
(KOPIA), Daelim Industrial, Daewoo
Engineering & Construction, Doosan
Heavy Industries & Construction and SK
Engineering & Construction offered consulting services for Korean plant equipment SMEs.
As mentioned by many GPP presenters
and participants, technology is increasingly making its way onto the agendas of
construction companies and city-planners
as they realize that innovative and ecofriendly technology is as much a part of a
city’s appeal as its flashy buildings.
Deputy Prime Minister Inho Lee echoed
this sentiment, saying, “Korea’s design,
procurement and construction companies
have excellent technologies in the fields of smart city, water treatment and renewable energy. We will seek to strengthen strategic partnerships on an international level through more events like GPP.”
Thanks to GPP, Korean businesses were able to strike major construction deals overseas. Here's just one of many GPP's success stories.
A consortium led by Korean SMEs and
large construction firms, including Dong-Ah Geological Engineering, Sambo E&C,
Eunsung O&C, and Chosuk Construction
& Development, swept the biddings in
2016, carrying out the ground improvement construction in a total of four areas
in the three-stage runway expansion project of Hong Kong International Airport.
This achievement was made possible
by strong support from KOTRA, the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and
Transportation and the Korean consulate
in Hong Kong. In April 2015, KOTRA
worked with the land ministry and
Korean Specialty Contractors
Association
(KOSCA) to form a
delegation of specialty construction contractors, and arranged
a meeting with Airport Authority Hong
Kong. That June, Airport Authority Hong
Kong was invited to the Global Project
Plaza 2015 organized by KOTRA, and
representatives from Airport Authority
Hong Kong toured Incheon International
Airport and met with 16 Korean specialty
contractors.
As a result, Dong-Ah Geological
Engineering won the KRW 133.4 billion
(USD 118 million) order to improve the
ground of the first zone, together with
Japan's Penta Ocean and China's China
State. The consortium consisting of
Samsung C&T, Eunsung
O&C and
China's Build King, won the order to carry
out the ground improvement work
worth KRW 281.7 billion (USD 249.3
million) in the second zone. Sambo E&C
has won orders for two sections, partnering with Chosuk Construction &
Development for the third zone (KRW
307.4 billion or USD 271.7 million), and
China Road and Bridge Corporation
(CRBC) for the fourth (KRW 260.9 billion or USD 230.6 million).
Together, the four sections are worth a
total of KRW 983.4 billion (USD 869.3
million), the third largest amount for construction orders won by Korean companies in Hong Kong.