Park Sang-woo, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, will visit the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for four days starting on the 16th to support the acquisition of various infrastructure projects such as local high-speed rail, airports, and renewable energy, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced.
The acquisition support team, led by Minister Park, includes the Korea National Railway, the Overseas Construction Association, the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND), and private companies. Since our construction companies first secured a contract in the UAE in 1974, they have won a total of $86.9 billion in contracts, making the UAE the second largest country in terms of cumulative contract value. In the first quarter of this year, UAE contracts amounted to about $2.4 billion, more than six times higher than the same period last year.
The UAE plans to increase investments in renewable energy such as solar and hydrogen, which have low carbon emissions, as well as transportation infrastructure including rail and aviation, in preparation for the post-oil era beyond its existing petrochemical plants. On the 18th (local time), the support team will meet with Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, to discuss cooperation plans in transportation and energy infrastructure.
The UAE government is promoting the construction of a high-speed rail line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai, with a speed of 350 km/h. The project spans 152 km, with a total cost of $13.6 billion, including 96 high-speed rail cars. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has established a national one-team system with the Korea National Railway, Korail, Hyundai Rotem, POSCO E&C, and other private companies. In February this year, the team passed the pre-qualification (PQ) for the local high-speed rail system and rolling stock sectors. Korea has proven the competitiveness of its high-speed rail model by exporting high-speed rail cars to Uzbekistan for the first time and making the largest-ever export to the Morocco Metro.
They are also pursuing projects in the chemical and power plant sectors. The UAE is preparing to launch projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars, including crude oil storage facilities, battery energy storage systems, and combined cycle power plants. The support team plans to discuss infrastructure-related business plans for countries needing post-conflict reconstruction or regions with high growth potential by combining Korean construction and operation technologies with UAE financial technologies.
On the 17th, the acquisition support team will meet with Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Director General of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, to support the acquisition of the local Al Maktoum International Airport expansion project. This project is valued at $32 billion and is being promoted as a national project to transfer the functions of the saturated Dubai International Airport to Al Maktoum Airport.
Minister Park Sang-woo said, "We will expand overseas construction orders, which have so far focused on chemical and power plants, to high-speed rail, airports, and renewable energy sectors to prepare for the post-oil era, and strive to achieve $50 billion in orders early this year."
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