Hyundai Engineering & Construction, the nation’s top builder, has set the goal of winning overseas order contracts worth more than $11 billion in 2013, the company said in a press release.

If the goal is achieved as planned, the proportion of the builder’s total sales made overseas will rise to 75 percent from 65 percent last year. In 2012, the company’s overseas orders reached a record high of $10.5 billion.

The continued growth in the overseas construction market resulted from the company’s continuous efforts to improve its competitiveness in winning overseas orders and expansion into other emerging markets, including Asia and Africa, beyond the Middle East, the company said. 

When it comes to Hyundai’s global competitiveness, industry watchers said the builder has the upper hand in price competitiveness compared to its U.S. and European competitors. In addition, unlike other latecomers, the company offers advanced technology and quality to customers.

To maintain its competitiveness in the global construction market, Hyundai seeks a different strategy by region, focusing on targeted bids to meet its annual order goal, while promoting collaborative work with experts in the specific region.

For instance, in the Middle East, Hyundai targets power generation plants and infrastructure building projects, the latter of whose demand continues to grow in the region despite the protracted global economic downturn.

The company also puts a priority on nurturing talent as well as maximizing engineering capacity.

In Asia, the company will use its key base, Singapore, to make its civil engineering and construction business even stronger. As the company sees the increase of turn-key orders in the infrastructure and plant sectors ― a result of policy changes in emerging countries such as Myanmar and Vietnam ― it shifts its strategy in the region to keep up with this trend and diversifies target Asian markets.

The company is also entering into the South American construction market beyond its traditional two core regions ― the Middle East and Asia ― for future growth.

As an example, the company has recently won the project to build a waste-water treatment plant in Bello, Colombia, and an oil refinery in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.

By Seo Jee-yeon  (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)