[Construction In] "Now Focusing on What We Do Best in Orders... Carbon Capture Is the Future of the Plant Business"

Dongwook Kim, Head of Plant Business Division at GS Engineering & Construction
Secured Two Major Plant Orders This Year
Consistent Study and Preparation for the Future
Focus on Carbon Capture and Plant-Based Materials
"We Will Proactively Seek Out and Lead New Business Opportunities"

Editor's Note'Construction In' is an interview series that shines a spotlight on key figures active in the construction industry. We aim to deliver vivid stories from the field by meeting construction professionals who are making their mark in core business areas and new growth engines of construction companies.

"During the overseas plant boom from 2010 for about five to six years, the competition was fierce. Domestic companies even competed against each other to monopolize orders from the Middle East, submitting extremely low bids and sometimes taking on projects that resulted in losses. After going through those tough times, people now say, 'Why did we fight? Let's just do what each of us does best.'"

Kim Dongwook, Executive Director and Head of Plant Business Division at GS Construction, is being interviewed by Asia Economy in the office of the company building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Huh Younghan younghan@

Dongwook Kim, Head of the Plant Business Division at GS Engineering & Construction, shared this perspective on the changed market atmosphere during an interview at the company's headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on July 22. He said, "Now, we selectively participate only in projects where profitability is guaranteed. We plan to continue focusing on the businesses we have excelled at and successfully executed in the past."

GS Engineering & Construction's plant business has faced challenging times over the past four to five years. It took time to recover from losses incurred during the Middle East boom, when the company focused on expanding its scale. Since then, a selective bidding strategy has taken root, with the company only bidding on projects with solid economic feasibility.

Kim, who took office at the end of last year, set his mindset for this year as 'Sahoebokyeon' (死灰復煙), meaning 'Let the ashes smoke again.' This phrase is written on the whiteboard in his office. He explained, "In recent years, we have held back on orders and reduced the scale of our business. I believe we have strengthened our fundamentals, but it is true that the overall mood was quite subdued. That's why I wrote down the resolve to start anew this year."

This year, GS Engineering & Construction has secured two major projects in the plant sector. In April, the company won the $1.22 billion (about 1.6876 trillion won) 'Fadhili Gas Plant Expansion Project' in Saudi Arabia. Shortly after, it also won the 600 billion won 'Northeast Asia LNG Hub Terminal Phase 1 Project' in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province. This is the first time in five years that the company has landed a project worth over 1 trillion won. The annual order target for the plant business has already been achieved this year.

The successful bid for the Saudi project was the result of a strategy focused on doing what the company does best. Kim explained, "For this project, the client only approached companies whose capabilities had already been proven. From the initial conceptual design stage, we dispatched personnel and were allowed to extract any necessary data. Four companies participated in the bidding process."

There were a total of three project packages, and four companies participated, so the competition was not intense. Depending on the project, it was possible to win orders without direct competition. The project GS Engineering & Construction secured is a 'sulfur recovery unit.' This facility recovers sulfur, a byproduct generated during gas extraction, and due to the large quantity involved, the facility itself is sizable. Kim said, "Other construction companies did not even attempt to bid for this project, as they thought GS Engineering & Construction would take it. We have considerable experience with gas plants, and especially with large-scale sulfur recovery units. We have done similar work in Saudi Arabia before." The company's experience of building and operating LNG terminals in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, for over 15 years also laid the foundation for winning the Yeosu LNG terminal project.

Looking ahead, the challenge is to prepare for new businesses in the plant sector that align with rapidly changing environments such as carbon neutrality. Earlier this month, all group companies gathered to share new business initiatives and discuss directions for synergy. Kim is particularly focused on carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology (CCUS). He said, "Due to economic feasibility, it has not yet reached commercialization, but it is definitely the direction we are heading. Our role in the large cycle from technology development to commercialization is to take the core technologies proven in the lab and scale them up to commercial size."

In addition to carbon capture plants, the company is continuously researching plants that produce high-value-added products using plant-based raw materials and waste cooking oil. Kim stated, "We plan to identify new business opportunities and take the lead in moving forward."