South Korea sent a delegation to Oman and Saudi Arabia to boost local companies' chances in the emerging infrastructure markets in the Middle East and strengthen economic ties, the land ministry said Tuesday.

Son Byeong-seok, Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, accompanied a business delegation made up of officials from both the public and private sectors to meet key infrastructure ministers in the resource-rich countries from Tuesday to Friday.

In Oman, Son will meet with the minister of transport and communications and the chairman of the Special Economic Zone Authority of Duqm to promote Korea's transportation systems and smart city technologies. 

On Wednesday, Korea Agency for Infrastructure and Technology Advancement, a state research institute, will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Middle East Desalination Research Center, an intergovernmental body dedicated to water research, to pursue cooperation in the desalination field.

Oman has recently launched a major project of building a special economic zone in Duqm, a port town on the Arabian Sea, to revitalize the national economy.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., a major Korean shipyard, operates the first repair ship yard within the special economic zone and Korean consortiums won two contracts in a large-scale refinery construction project, the ministry said.

"The importance of the market will further rise as the (Oman) government introduced a pipeline of 17 new infrastructure projects," the land ministry said.

In Saudi Arabia, the vice minister will hold high-level meetings with housing and transport ministers to strengthen bilateral cooperation for "Saudi Vision 2030," a flagship economic project aimed at reducing the kingdom's reliance on oil.

The project, which includes the construction of 1.5 million houses, a railway project and metro project, has chosen South Korea as a strategic partner in the implementation of the plan.

Officials of the two countries will discuss ways to cooperate during the meeting, and follow-up measures will be covered in the 18th Korea-Saudi Arabia Economic Cooperation Committee Meeting slated for next month, the ministry said.  (Yonhap)