Hyundai E&C, which entered the '4 trillion Club', faces off against No. 1 POSCO E&C in the urban maintenance project market

[Korea Financial Times, Ju Hyuntae] Hyundai E&C (CEO Yoon Young-joon) has surpassed KRW 4 trillion in cumulative orders in the urban maintenance project market this year, following POSCO E&C (CEO Jeon Joong-sun). POSCO E&C currently holds the top spot in urban maintenance orders, and it will be interesting to see if Hyundai E&C, which entered the four-trillion club late, can recapture the top spot from last year.

According to the maintenance industry on the 11th, Hyundai E&C, in a consortium with Daewoo E&C, won the KRW 1.31 trillion redevelopment project in Busan's Goejeong District 5 on Sept. 8. The ratio is 55% for Hyundai E&C and 45% for Daewoo E&C. They will carry out construction worth about KRW 719.7 billion and KRW 588.9 billion, respectively.

With this order, Hyundai E&C has accumulated KRW 4.03 trillion, the second time it has entered the four-trillion club in the construction industry.

This year, Hyundai E&C has won construction rights in six projects, including the urban environment maintenance project in Seongnam Jung-gu 2 district (KRW 678.2 billion), Hanyang Apartment reconstruction in Yeouido (KRW 774 billion), Bugae 5 district redevelopment in Incheon (KRW 513.9 billion), Daejeon Doma-Byeondong 16 district redevelopment (KRW 705.7 billion), Songpa Garak Samik Manshon reconstruction (KRW 634 billion), and Goejeong 5 district redevelopment in Busan (KRW 719.7 billion).

This narrowed the gap with POSCO E&C, the current leader in urban maintenance orders, to KRW 690 billion.

This year, starting with the redevelopment of Busan's Chokjin 2-1 Zone (KRW 1.33 trillion), POSCO E&C secured construction rights for Goyang Starlight Village 8 complex remodeling (KRW 498.8 billion), Geumjeong Station Sanbon 1-dong redevelopment (KRW 282.1 billion), Garak Mirung Apartment reconstruction (KRW 223.8 billion), Noryangjin 1-dong redevelopment in Seoul (KRW 1,1 trillion), and Seoul Munrae Daewon remodeling, achieving a total of KRW 4.71 trillion in orders.

Some say the top spot will be decided by who wins the big business in the second half of the year.

Hyundai E&C has held the top spot in the maintenance business for the past five years. In fact, last year, Hyundai E&C lost the top spot to POSCO E&C until the third quarter, but won back-to-back orders before the end of the year to regain the top spot.

With a number of high-profile projects remaining in the second half of the year in Seoul, fierce competition is expected. The big projects scheduled to be awarded include Banpo, Gaeppo, Seongsu, and Apgujeong.

In particular, the battle for the top spot is expected to intensify in the second half of the year, as Hyundai E&C is interested in Seoul's Sinbanpo 2 (KRW 1.28 trillion), Mia 9-2 (KRW 600 billion), and Busan's Yeonsan 5 (expected to cost KRW 1.4 trillion).

“We will continue to focus on securing solid orders in the second half of the year, and we plan to continue our unrivaled position in the urban maintenance business by preempting local landmark projects centered on our core locations,” said a Hyundai E&C official.

Ju Hyuntae (gun1313@fntimes.com)