Kim Seok-jun, Chairman of Ssangyong Construction, on a Business Trip to Singapore for On-site Inspection

Chairman Kim Seok-jun visited the WHC site in Singapore last January (second from the left in the photo). (Provided by Ssangyong Construction)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] Kim Seok-jun, chairman of Ssangyong Construction, embarked on a business trip to Singapore for on-site inspection despite the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Ssangyong Construction announced on the 29th that it visited Singapore to assess the progress of construction sites and to establish bidding strategies in anticipation of the resumption of large-scale project orders. This business trip by Chairman Kim is the first in about five months since his trip to Dubai at the end of last year.

A Ssangyong Construction official explained, "Due to the limitations of online video conferences caused by COVID-19, the trip was undertaken to meet directly with the sites and clients."

Currently, Ssangyong Construction is carrying out a total of five projects in Singapore, amounting to 2.1 trillion KRW. During the trip, Chairman Kim plans to visit the Woodlands Hospital site and Forest Woods Condominium site to inspect current issues and hold meetings with clients.

Among these, Woodlands Hospital is a project to build Singapore's largest future-oriented general hospital. It is planned to be constructed on approximately 76,600 square meters of land, with four basement floors and seven above-ground floors, consisting of eight buildings and 1,800 beds. The construction cost amounts to 740 million USD (approximately 880 billion KRW).

In addition, he will visit three large civil engineering sites currently under construction to conduct on-site inspections and assess issues. Ssangyong Construction is currently working on the N102 and N111 sections of the North-South Expressway and the TEL308 section of the urban subway.

A Ssangyong Construction official stated, "Overseas sites are very large and have various variables and issues, so video conferences and phone calls alone have had limitations. Although overseas business trips have been difficult since the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s trip to Dubai resulted in a significant increase in the construction cost of the Royal Atlantis Hotel from 800 billion KRW to about 1.5 trillion KRW."