Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. on Thursday agreed to put the troubled builder under a debt-rescheduling program in a bid to rescue it from a liquidity crunch, officials said.

Creditors of Ssangyong E&C, led by Woori Bank, agreed to provide fresh liquidity worth 445 billion won (US$392.8 million) next month and seek a debt-to-equity swap in July, according to bank officials.

The creditors had been at odds over whether to place the builder under the debt workout program, claiming that they had already supplied massive liquidity to Ssangyong E&C.

As Kookmin Bank and Shinhan Bank, which were previously lukewarm about the liquidity supply, have finally agreed to kick-start the debt-rescheduling program, the creditors' rescue push came to gain traction, they said.

The creditors are likely to seek to sell the builder while making efforts to normalize its operations, they added.

The program, which requires more than 75 percent approval from creditors, will lead the builder to defer its debt repayment and face a corporate overhaul in exchange for a liquidity injection.

Ssangyong E&C suffered from a cash crunch and capital erosion due to massive losses for the second consecutive year in 2012 amid the global economic downturn and the sluggish property market at home. (Yonhap News)