Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport "This Year’s Overseas Construction Order Target of $50 Billion... Also Pilot Operation of Fully Unmanned Autonomous Driving"

'Achieving This Year's Overseas Order Target, Up 35% from Last Year'
Dispatching Public-Private Contract Support Teams and Securing Orders through ODA
Accelerating Development of Domestic Smart City and BIM Technologies
Fully Unmanned Autonomous Driving Demonstration at 50 km/h in Sangam

The site of the Starlake New Town in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo by Yonhap News

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has set this year's overseas construction contract target at 50 billion USD. Last year's performance (37.1 billion USD) fell short of the target (40 billion USD). However, MOLIT officials explained that the target was raised this year because the decision on the 7.3 billion USD Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant construction project in the Czech Republic will be made in March, and the likelihood of winning the contract is high.

"Achieving 50 Billion USD in Overseas Orders This Year with Region-Specific Customized Strategies"

On the 13th, MOLIT announced this through the '2025 MOLIT Major Work Promotion Plan.' Although last year's performance was below the target, it is calculated that achieving the target is possible if the 17.3 billion USD Czech Dukovany Nuclear Power Plant construction project contract is confirmed this year. In November last year, 'Team Korea,' led by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, was selected as the preferred negotiator for the Czech nuclear power plant. The contract decision will be made in March.

Choi Sin-hyung, Director of MOLIT's Overseas Construction Policy Division, said, "We set the contract target based on a survey of projects that our companies have in mind," adding, "Although last year we did not meet the target, if the 17.3 billion USD Czech nuclear power plant project contract is confirmed this year, we can reach 50 billion USD."

Besides the large nuclear power plant projects, MOLIT plans to increase exports of smart cities and K-City, which combines entertainment, food, and medical sectors, as well as K-Rail, based on a public-private cooperation system. In particular, the target will be achieved through region-specific customized contract strategies linked to infrastructure diplomacy in the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

By region, in the Middle East, the Korea-Saudi Arabia Infrastructure and Logistics Committee will be held, and a public-private joint contract support team will be dispatched to promote Saudi urban development projects, Iraq reconstruction projects, and UAE high-speed rail projects. In Asia, official development assistance (ODA) and concessional aid will continue, and this year, the Korea-Central Asia Summit will be held in Seoul to advance into Uzbekistan transportation projects, Vietnam new city, industrial complex, and high-speed rail projects, and Malaysia airport construction projects.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo visited Turkmenistan from September 23 to 25 last year to support the acquisition of plant construction projects. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

In Europe, a public-private joint contract support team will be dispatched to secure contracts for the Czech nuclear power plant and high-speed rail projects, Bulgarian nuclear power plant projects, and Polish plant projects. In Latin America, K-Rail One Team will be sent to Panama, El Salvador, and Peru to secure contracts in all areas of railway construction and operation. Additionally, in Africa, cooperation will be strengthened through concessional and non-concessional ODA, engaging in projects such as the Kenya bridge project and Rwanda road project.

To support such overseas investment and development projects, MOLIT has completed the first phase investment of the 1.5 trillion KRW Plant, Construction, and Smart City (PIS) Fund and is also promoting the establishment of a second phase fund worth 1.1 trillion KRW.

Accelerating Domestic Construction Technology Development

In addition to overseas capabilities, MOLIT is also promoting domestic construction technology development. MOLIT will select one specialized complex for smart city technology development, regulatory exemptions, and technology demonstration in the first half of this year and provide financial support of 2 billion KRW. The specialized complex will be established in urban areas to quickly realize project effects.

Smart construction technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) will be developed, and educational programs for training specialized personnel will be expanded. BIM is a technology that models buildings in 3D to utilize information. The Off-Site Construction (OSC) technology, which produces building materials in advance and assembles them on-site, will be applied at the Sejong-Pocheon highway bridge construction site to promote technology dissemination.

On the 12th, full-scale construction began at the Seoul Station North Transit-Oriented Development site on Cheongpa-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul. The Seoul Station North Transit-Oriented Development project is a large-scale complex combining MICE facilities, offices, hotels, and officetels. On the vacant railway idle land, five buildings with a total floor area of approximately 340,000㎡, six basement levels, and up to 39 floors above ground will be constructed. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

MOLIT, together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will launch a service next month based on a digital twin land environment that digitally replicates the land to pre-assess the feasibility of factory establishment. This service will comprehensively diagnose regulations related to land and buildings according to factory type and scale and reduce preparation time and costs for business operators through construction simulation.

Having completed the fourth phase of Incheon International Airport last December, MOLIT will also strengthen the airport's hub functions. Compared to competitors such as China and Japan, it will increase direct international flights to markets like India and Bangladesh in South Asia and Europe, and establish new transit routes such as Oceania-Korea-Central Asia. Plans to strengthen the aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry, including cargo aircraft modification and engine maintenance, will be developed in the second half of this year.

To enhance convenience for foreign visitors at the '2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit' held in Gyeongju in the second half of this year, MOLIT will prepare dedicated parking spots for foreign countries' private jets at Gimhae Airport in Gyeongnam and Daegu Airport. Surrounding roads spanning 174 km will be maintained, and train services such as KTX will be increased. Additionally, international events related to infrastructure and smart cities such as GICC and WSCE will be hosted to strengthen international cooperation.

Fully Unmanned Autonomous Driving Demonstration Without Passengers in Sangam This Year

Meanwhile, MOLIT will conduct Korea's first pilot operation of Level 4 autonomous driving (fully unmanned) in Sangam, Seoul, in the second half of this year. In this pilot operation, the vehicle will run at speeds within 50 km/h on the 3.2 km circular route of the Sangam autonomous driving pilot zone without a passenger in the driver's seat.

At Smart Life Week held at COEX, Seoul until the 12th, a representative from an autonomous driving technology company is demonstrating a remote driving system. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

For high-speed and long-distance autonomous driving, nationwide highways will be designated as autonomous vehicle pilot zones to support autonomous driving demonstrations at speeds up to 100 km/h. The pilot zones will be designated using a negative method, excluding sections where autonomous driving is difficult, such as interchange sections. This demonstration will be conducted using freight trucks traveling between major logistics hubs.

In September this year, a 'Drone Manufacturing Ecosystem Creation Plan' will be prepared to ensure stable domestic supply of drone motors, batteries, and other components. The number of 'Drone Special Free Zones' for technology demonstration will also increase from 47 to 70.

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) will begin demonstrations in the metropolitan area, including the Incheon Ara Waterway, within this year, diversifying commercialization models such as transportation, tourism, and emergency medical services. In the second half of this year, support will also be provided to prepare pilot projects for two local governments.