Overseas construction orders received by domestic companies last year reached USD 47.27 billion, the highest since 2014. Shown is the nuclear energy complex in the Dukovany region of the Czech Republic. (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power)

By Margareth Theresia

Overseas construction orders received by domestic companies last year reached USD 47.27 billion, the highest since 2014.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Jan. 9 said such growth was led by a surge on the European market including a nuclear power complex in the Czech Republic and diversification of high added-value, cutting-edge industries centered on plants and nuclear power.

The volume of such orders rose for the fourth consecutive year from USD 30.98 billion in 2022 to USD 33.31 billion in 2023, USD 37.11 billion in 2024 and USD 47.27 billion last year.

By region, Europe accounted for the most orders with USD 20.2 billion or 46%, a jump of nearly 400% from USD 5.6 billion in 2024.

The drive to bolster energy security and growing power demand due to industrial and economic development led to the steady growth of orders for energy power generation projects such as the Czech complex, solar power facility in Dukhan, Qatar, and combined-cycle power plant in Saudi Arabia.

Valued at USD 18.72 billion, the Czech venture played a crucial role in the Czech Republic leading all countries in construction orders placed with Korea.

In Qatar, Samsung C&T of Korea expanded its business scope to carbon reduction and the environment by winning a large-scale project (USD 1.37 billion) to capture, compress, transport and store carbon dioxide generated during the production of liquefied natural gas.

The ministry said, "We are also entering the sector of data center construction, a core infrastructure in the artificial intelligence era, and proactively responding to changes in industrial structure and global demand."

margareth@korea.kr