"Overseas Construction Orders This Year to Reach $40 Billion? Likely Just Over Half" [2024 National Audit]

President Yoon Seok-yeol's Self-Praise on Overseas Construction Orders
Uncertain to Reach $40 Billion This Year... Orders at $18 Billion as of August
Significant Decline in Overseas Expansion of Small and Medium Construction Firms, Downturn in Civil Engineering and Architecture Orders

The overseas construction orders under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration have sharply declined. A red light has been lit even for achieving this year's overseas construction order target of $40 billion (approximately 53.8 trillion KRW).

On the 7th, at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's National Assembly inspection held at the Government Sejong Complex, Ahn Tae-jun, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "According to the overseas construction order performance submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as of the end of July this year, the order amount is $16.88 billion (approximately 22.7 trillion KRW)," adding, "This is about 42.2% of the Ministry's target for this year."

He added, "Even when expanding the performance data through the Overseas Construction Integrated Information Service until the end of August, the order amount is $17.96 billion (approximately 24.2 trillion KRW), which is only 44.9% of the target," and projected, "Arithmetically, it will only reach about $26.9 billion (approximately 36.2 trillion KRW) by the end of this year."

In particular, the decline is steep among small and medium-sized construction companies and in the civil engineering and architecture sectors. Around 2010, the contract amount for SMEs reached $5 billion (approximately 6.7 trillion KRW), with 600 contracts, but after experiencing the COVID-19 crisis, SME participation sharply decreased and has not recovered, resulting in only $1.3 billion (approximately 1.7 trillion KRW) and 300 contracts this year.

Regarding civil engineering and architecture, their share was over 60% in the 1990s and more than 30% in the 2000s, but this year it recorded 26.7%, showing a gradual decrease in proportion. The order amount was $15 billion (approximately 20.2 trillion KRW) combined in civil engineering and architecture in 2020, but only reached $4.8 billion (approximately 6.5 trillion KRW) by August this year, remaining at about 30% of that level.

Assemblyman Ahn said, "President Yoon Suk-yeol has emphasized investment cooperation achievements every time he returns from overseas trips and has been enthusiastic about overseas construction orders, but the results are at a very dismal level," adding, "We will continuously monitor to ensure that the discussions held at the related ministers' meetings translate into effects that companies can actually feel."