The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Jan. 9 said overseas construction orders by domestic companies last year exceeded USD 1 trillion for the first time in the nation's history. Shown is the National Museum of Qatar, whose order was won by Hyundai Engineering & Construction. (Hyundai Engineering & Construction)

By Lee Dasom

Overseas construction orders received by domestic companies last year reached USD 37.11 billion (KRW 54 trillion) in value, the highest in nine years.

This raised the country's cumulative figure to USD 1 trillion in 59 years, since the nation's builders began expansion abroad.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Jan. 9 said 254 domestic builders won 605 projects in 101 countries last year despite economic uncertainty stemming from the war in Ukraine and armed conflict in the Middle East.

Last year's orders increased 11.4% in value from USD 33.3 billion in 2023 to post their highest figure since 2016, as the country's builders saw their third consecutive year of growth in contracts.

By continent, the Middle East was by far the biggest market with USD 18.49 billion (49.8%), followed by Asia (19.2%) and Europe (13.6%).

Contracts in Europe reached USD 5.05 billion, up a whopping 139.7% year on year. This was thanks to domestic builders aggressively entering new sectors such as solar power generation and battery plants amid higher investment in green and new industries on the Continent.

2024 also saw the value of construction projects abroad reaching the USD 1 trillion mark for the first time. Semiconductors and cars also hit the same amount last year.

By country, the Middle East and Asia saw the highest cumulative demand for Korean construction projects led by Saudi Arabia (17.7%), the United Arab Emirates (8.4%), Kuwait (4.9%) and Singapore (4.8%).

Over the past three years, Saudi Arabia had the highest share of such orders (24.5%), followed by the U.S. (16.9%), Qatar (6.4%), Indonesia (4.8%) and Hungary (3.6%). This showed how domestic builders diversified their markets to North America and Europe.

"Our companies have recently sought new growth engines in overseas construction such as urban development and rail in going beyond the framework of traditional building projects," Minster of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sangwoo said. "We will keep actively supporting our companies to lead an era of USD 2 trillion in construction orders abroad through K-city, K-rail, and investment development projects."

dlektha0319@korea.kr