IBK Joins in Place of Macquarie
Construction on Private Investment Section Gains Momentum After Over a Year
Daewoo Engineering & Construction has increased its stake in the private investment contract for the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX)-B Line and has also finalized its financial agreements. It is expected that the construction, which had been delayed for over a year, will now gain momentum.
On August 1, Daewoo Engineering & Construction announced, "The contract amount for the construction of the GTX-B Line private investment project has been finalized at 1.0343216 trillion won." This figure is approximately 327.3 billion won higher than the previous amount (about 707 billion won) set when the company was selected as the preferred bidder in January 2023.
A representative from Daewoo Engineering & Construction explained, "This result reflects the increase in the price index, the rise in investigation and design costs, and the company's construction stake increasing from 22% to 26%." The 'price exception' currently being promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was not applied. The price exception is not applied to projects where the implementation agreement was signed before construction began, so both the B and C lines were excluded.
The key issue of financial procurement has also been resolved. It has been reported that financial procurement was finalized as new financial institutions, including IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, participated. Macquarie Infrastructure, which had initially considered participating, withdrew due to the financial burden.
A representative from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, "The overall construction scale of GTX-B remains the same, and Daewoo Engineering & Construction's stake has slightly increased," adding, "Although the profitability conditions are not easy, the B Line project operator has completed investor recruitment, considering the importance of the project."
Perspective view of GTX-B Incheon National University Station Metropolitan Transfer Center. Provided by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.
GTX-B is a line approximately 82.8 kilometers long, connecting Incheon National University Station in Yeonsu-gu, Incheon to Maseok Station in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, with a total project cost of 5.7351 trillion won.
Among these, the sections from Incheon National University to Yongsan and from Sangbong to Maseok are private investment and construction sections. The section from Yongsan to Sangbong is being pursued with public funds. The construction period is planned to be 72 months (6 years).
Although a groundbreaking ceremony was held in March last year, construction on the private investment sections was delayed. It was only in May this year, after a year and two months, that some construction finally began.
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