30 Countries, 50 Organizations Overseas Construction Exchange and Cooperation
Public and Private CEOs Fully Mobilized...Promoting Infrastructure Capabilities
Cumulative Overseas Orders Reach 1 Trillion USD...Paradigm Shift
The '2024 Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference' (GICC), hosted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and organized by the Overseas Construction Association, will be held in Seoul for three days starting from the 10th.
On the 8th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that for the 12th GICC this year, key figures such as ministers, vice ministers, and CEOs from 50 organizations across 30 countries will be invited to share infrastructure development plans and upcoming projects. In particular, special sessions focusing on construction finance, public-private partnership (PPP), railroads, and Africa will be held to explore cooperation methods in line with global trends.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo is speaking at the 'Overseas Construction Order Platform' meeting held in Seoul on July 11. / Photo by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Since 2013, GICC has been held annually to promote cooperation in the infrastructure sector among the government, major overseas clients, multilateral development banks, and construction and engineering companies, as well as to support Korean companies' entry into overseas markets. So far, 604 organizations from 88 countries have participated. The projects cooperated with these organizations number over 300.
Minister Park Sang-woo of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will conduct relay bilateral meetings with infrastructure ministers and vice ministers from seven countries, along with Kim Hyung-ryeol, Administrator of the Administrative City Construction Agency, and Kang Hee-up, Chairman of the Metropolitan Area Transport Committee, to promote infrastructure cooperation diplomacy. The countries include Tanzania (Central Line Railroad), Panama (Panama City-David Railroad), T?rkiye (?anakkale Road), Indonesia (New Capital Relocation), the Philippines (Clark New City Development), the United Arab Emirates (UAE, Abu Dhabi-Dubai High-Speed Rail), and Vietnam (H? Nam Province New City).
CEOs from public enterprises such as the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH), Korea National Railway, Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), and Korea Expressway Corporation, as well as private companies including Samsung, Hyundai, SK, and GS, will all participate. They plan to engage in close exchanges through high-level meetings with overseas clients.
The opening ceremony, attended by about 500 domestic and international figures, will begin with an opening address by Han Man-hee, Chairman of the Overseas Construction Association, followed by a welcome speech by Minister Park Sang-woo and congratulatory remarks by Jos? Luis Andrade, Minister of Public Works of Panama.
In his welcome speech, Minister Park will promote Korea's capabilities as an overseas construction partner and present the cooperative development direction of 'Team Korea with You,' where the government and public enterprises proactively discover projects through customized package support in housing, urban development, railroads, roads, and overseas construction investment and development projects. This aims to initiate a paradigm shift following the milestone of $1 trillion in cumulative overseas construction orders.
Following this, Yoon Hee-sung, President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, will deliver a keynote speech on 'Policy Finance for Strengthening International Cooperation.' John Scott Hazelton, Senior Consultant at S&P Global, will present on 'Global Construction Market Outlook,' and Solomon Quainoo, Vice President of the African Development Bank, will speak on 'Economic Development in Africa through Cooperation with Korea.'
At the high-level multilateral meeting, chaired by Minister Park, key ministers, vice ministers, and CEOs from 11 countries will discuss construction finance and PPP. KIND and the Export-Import Bank will introduce various financial support systems from project discovery to completion, and LH will present recent urban development cooperation cases such as the new city in Vietnam. Afterwards, plans to discuss cooperation methods between each country and Korea will be made.
There will also be special sessions on railroads and Africa to promote K-Rail and support entry into new African markets. Domestic public and private stakeholders in the railroad sector and major railroad clients from over 10 countries will gather to showcase the excellence of Korean railroads. In particular, opportunities for Korean companies to enter large-scale upcoming projects such as the UAE and Czech Republic high-speed rail projects, Tanzania Central Line Railroad project, and Central American (Panama, Costa Rica, etc.) railroad projects will be explored.
Additionally, a Korea-Africa special session will be held where key ministers and vice ministers from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and other countries will share development plans with Korean companies, supporting diversification of overseas orders and the overseas market entry of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Furthermore, opportunities to obtain project information and network will be provided. Experts from multilateral development banks (MDB) such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and European Union (EU) funds will participate in seminars introducing policies and investment projects in urban development and energy sectors, regional project briefings by major clients, and one-on-one consultations between Korean companies and clients.
Minister Park said, "In the expanding overseas construction market for urban development, railroads, and other infrastructure, where competition among countries is fierce, acquiring project information, building networks, and close cooperation utilizing the capabilities of government, public, and private enterprises are crucial factors for winning orders. As we enter the era of 60 years of overseas construction and $1 trillion in cumulative orders, we plan to actively promote a paradigm shift in overseas construction by sharing tailored technologies and know-how needed by partner countries and discovering investment and development projects."
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