[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Hyundai Engineering & Construction has won a contract worth a total of 670 billion KRW for the 'Philippine North-South Railway Section 1' project. With this, Hyundai E&C has secured civil engineering and construction projects worth a total of 1 trillion KRW this year in the Asian region, including Singapore, Myanmar, Hong Kong, and now the Philippines.
On the 21st, Hyundai E&C announced that it received the Letter of Award (LOA) for the Philippine North-South Railway Section 1 project, worth 670 billion KRW (573 million USD), issued by the Philippine Department of Transportation on the 18th. Hyundai E&C holds a 57.5% stake, amounting to approximately 383.8 billion KRW (330 million USD).
Hyundai E&C, as the lead contractor, formed strategic alliances with local company Megawide and earthwork specialist Dong-A Geo-Engineering to enhance competitiveness. Hyundai E&C stated that this contract marks a stepping stone for re-entering the Philippine construction market after 34 years since winning the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters new construction project in 1986.
The Philippine North-South Railway Section 1 project is part of the approximately 53 km long north-south railway construction connecting Malolos in northern Manila and Clark. Among the total five sections, Section 1, constructed by Hyundai E&C, involves building two aboveground stations and about 17 km of viaducts, with a construction period of 48 months from the start date. The Philippine government expects that once the North-South Railway is completed, travel time between the capital Manila and Clark will be drastically reduced, making accessibility more convenient. It is also anticipated to alleviate traffic problems within the metropolitan area and reduce transportation-related costs.
With this contract, Hyundai E&C has successfully established a foothold in the Philippine infrastructure market and explained that it has secured a favorable position for bidding on the upcoming southern line project. Recently, the Philippines is a country expected to see continuous large-scale infrastructure development under President Duterte's 'Build·Build·Build' policy.
A Hyundai E&C official said, "This contract is a valuable achievement made amid the challenging global environment due to COVID-19 and other factors," adding, "Based on accumulated railway construction technology and experience, we will build high-quality infrastructure facilities in the Philippines."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
