Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced Wednesday that it received the highest honor in overseas construction from the Korean government, recognizing its cumulative overseas orders exceeding $140 billion. The award was presented at a ceremony celebrating the landmark achievement of $1 trillion in total overseas construction contracts secured by Korean companies.
Hosted by the International Contractors Association of Korea and sponsored by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the event was held Tuesday at the Construction Association of Korea headquarters in Gangnam, southern Seoul. There, Hyundai E&C was recognized as the only company to have surpassed $100 billion in overseas contracts.
Korea’s construction industry first entered the global market in 1965 when Hyundai E&C won the Pattani–Narathiwat Highway project in Thailand. Since then, the industry has evolved into a key pillar of the nation’s economic growth, joining semiconductors and automobiles in surpassing the $1 trillion mark in cumulative exports.
During the ceremony, Hyundai E&C was honored for its significant global contributions, having executed more than 850 projects across more than 60 countries, with total overseas orders amounting to $146.2 billion, which is approximately 14.5 percent of Korea’s total overseas construction volume.
Commemorating 60 years of overseas construction, four of Hyundai E&C’s projects were selected among the "Top 10 Overseas Projects," a symbolic recognition of Korea’s most iconic international achievements. These included the pioneering Pattani–Narathiwat Highway in Thailand; the Jubail Industrial Port in Saudi Arabia, which marked the beginning of the Middle East construction boom; the South Pars Gas Field Plant in Iran, once the world’s largest of its kind; and the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE, Korea’s first overseas nuclear project.
“Hyundai E&C’s unparalleled global track record stems from the bold spirit of challenge passed down from our late founder Chung Ju-yung,” said a Hyundai E&C official.
“We’ve built a legacy of ‘firsts’ and ‘bests’ across deserts and polar regions. As we carry forward our 60-year journey, we remain committed to expanding the frontier of K-construction and building a sustainable future, with the goal of reaching $2 trillion in overseas orders.”
hykim@heraldcorp.com
