Domestic Construction Orders in Q1 This Year Total 34.22 Trillion KRW
Private Sector Orders Down 36.2%, Public Sector Orders Down 5.9%
Major Construction Companies Also See Decline in Domestic Order Performance
In the first quarter of this year, domestic construction orders in South Korea decreased by 28% compared to the same period last year. In particular, with a significant decline in private sector construction orders, major construction companies also experienced sluggish performance in the domestic order market.
According to the 'Domestic Construction Economic Trends' report by the Korea Construction Association on the 13th, the domestic construction order amount in the first quarter of this year was 34.2212 trillion KRW, down 28% from the first quarter of last year. By client type, private sector orders amounted to 22.2057 trillion KRW, a sharp drop of 36.2% compared to the same period last year. Public sector orders were 12.0155 trillion KRW, decreasing by 5.9% compared to the same period last year, showing a smaller decline than the private sector.
By construction type, building orders decreased by 27.4% from the first quarter of last year to 20.588 trillion KRW, and civil engineering orders fell by 29% to 13.6331 trillion KRW during the same period. In the building sector, office and retail (-56.4%) and factories and warehouses (-55.9%) saw significant declines, and redevelopment also decreased by 37.7%. In the civil engineering sector, orders decreased mainly in mechanical installation (-64.7%) and water supply and sewage (-35.4%).
As of March, domestic construction orders amounted to 13.5 trillion KRW, only a 0.1% decrease compared to March last year. Private sector orders decreased by 10.1% compared to March last year, mainly due to declines in factories and warehouses (-79%) and reconstruction (-24.8%). Public sector orders increased by 22.6% compared to March last year, helping to reduce the overall decline in domestic construction orders in March this year.
In this situation, major construction companies also faced difficulties securing projects in the domestic market. Samsung C&T's construction division recorded 1.956 trillion KRW in new domestic orders in the first quarter, down 47% from the same period last year. Hyundai Engineering & Construction saw an increase in orders overseas, resulting in higher total orders in the first quarter compared to last year, but domestic orders decreased by 25.3%, from 5.4424 trillion KRW in the first quarter of last year to 4.0638 trillion KRW.
GS Engineering & Construction also significantly increased overseas orders by securing a gas plant expansion project worth about 1.6 trillion KRW in Saudi Arabia. However, domestic orders decreased by 27%, from 1.883 trillion KRW in the same period last year to 1.367 trillion KRW. DL E&C's domestic orders in the first quarter of this year were 1.8749 trillion KRW, down 36.5% from 2.9555 trillion KRW in the first quarter of last year.
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