President Choi Chi-hun of Samsung C&T

(Photo:Courtesy of Samsung C&T)

Samsung C&T captured $12.5 billion worth of overseas construction projects last year the largest annual figures for a single Korean construction firm, the company said recently.

The company said the Riyadh subway construction project boosted its construction projects won to $10 billion for the first seven months of last year helping its total overseas construction project secured last year reach more than $12.5 billion. The last project the company won last year was the Rabic 2 civilian power plant project valued at $1.25 billion.

The civilian power plant project, designed to burn gas and other fuel, is to be built in Rabic some 150 km from Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia, with a total generation capacity of 2,100 Mw of power.

Samsung C&T and its partner Aqua Power Interna-tional of Saudi Arabia will undertake the project on an EPC basis with an investment to hold a stake in the power plant. Samsung will also participate in operation and management of the power plant when it is completed in 2017, the company said.

The thermal power plant project is the fourth one ordered by Saudi Electricity Corp. Samsung, which is also undertaking the construction of the Qurayah multi-thermal power plant, the largest thermal power plant in the world on an EPC basis, has been named the priority bidder for a power plant project in Turkey and thus has been able to confirm its position as a strong leader in the area of power plant construction around the world by winning the Rabic 2 power plant this time. 

Samsung C&T ’s $12.5 billion in overseas construction projects last year is the largest ever secured by a Korean construction firm overseas in a single year to date, overtaking Hyundai Construction’s 2010 record of securing $11 billion  in overseas construction projects. Samsung only won a total of $5.6 billion in overseas construction projects in 2012 and far exceeded the 11.5 trillion won target for overseas construction projects for 2013, accounting for one-quarter the value of all construction projects won overseas by Korean firms last year.

Samsung has been getting the attention of the construction industry by winning the Roy Hill Mine Project in Australia worth $5.856 billion and the Riyadh Petro Project worth $2.2 billion and the Rabic 2 civilian multi-thermal power plant project worth $1.214 billion, both in Saudi Arabia, and the Qatar Doha Metro Project worth $700 million, all large construction projects with stable earnings for Samsung C&T and a boost to its global image. 

Samsung C&T has been able to build a stable business portfolio by diversifying the nations in which it has won construction projects, which include Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, Mongolia, and Morocco. This list includes both advanced nations and emerging nations and diverse projects ranging from plants and civil engineering to construction.