'14 Trillion Won Mega Project' Seongsu District 4 Bidding War... Spotlight on Daewoo vs. Lotte Two-Way Race [Real Estate AtoZ]

Five Companies Including Daewoo Attend Briefing Session
Lotte Highlights High-Rise Construction Expertise
Daewoo Promises Superior Business Terms
Attention on Possible Rematch Since Hannam District 2

The Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone District 4, considered a prime redevelopment project along the Han River, has officially begun the process of selecting a construction company. With Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Lotte Engineering & Construction-both regarded as strong candidates-appearing at the on-site briefing session, attention is focused on the possibility of a rematch three years after the last competition in Hannam District 2.

According to the maintenance industry on December 26, the Seongsu 4 District Redevelopment Maintenance Project Association held an on-site briefing session for contractor bidding at 2 p.m. that day at the association office. A total of five companies attended the session: Daewoo Engineering & Construction, Lotte Engineering & Construction, SK Ecoplant, HDC Hyundai Development Company, and DL E&C.

The Seongsu 4 District Redevelopment Maintenance Project Association held an on-site briefing session for contractor bidding at 2 p.m. on the 26th at the association office in Seongsu-dong 2-ga, Seongdong-gu. Photo by Lee Ji-eun

District 4 is a maintenance project to build 1,439 residential units in buildings ranging from five basement floors to 64 stories above ground, on an 89,828-square-meter site in Seongsu-dong 2-ga 1-dong. The total construction cost proposed by the association is 1.3628 trillion won, with a per 3.3 square meters construction cost of around 11.4 million won. Construction companies wishing to participate in the bidding must pay a bid deposit of 50 billion won in cash.

District 4 completed its integrated review application with the Seoul Metropolitan Government in September. Among the four districts in the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone, District 4 is progressing the fastest. As early as March next year, it is expected to pass the integrated review, and by September of the same year, receive approval for the project implementation plan. This contrasts with Districts 1 and 2, which began the construction company selection process earlier but have stalled due to internal conflicts within their associations. District 1, which announced its construction company selection in August, canceled its first bid due to collusion issues with a construction company. In District 2, the selection process was halted after the association president resigned following an unfortunate incident with a POSCO E&C promotion staff member (OS staff).

The Seongsu 4 District Redevelopment Maintenance Project Association is holding a construction company bidding on-site briefing session on the 26th at the association office in Seongsu-dong 2-ga, Seongdong-gu. Photo by Lee Jieun

In District 4, Daewoo Engineering & Construction and Lotte Engineering & Construction are considered the leading candidates for bidding. If both participate, it would mark a rematch three years after the competition in Hannam District 2 in 2022, where Daewoo Engineering & Construction emerged victorious.

There are also expectations that Lotte Engineering & Construction may propose bold business terms to establish a foothold for expanding its redevelopment projects along the Han River. A representative from Lotte Engineering & Construction stated, "We aim to further enhance value based on the expertise and technology gained from completing Lotte World Tower," adding, "We are preparing a premium design by applying our high-end brand 'Lotte Le El,' which is reserved only for the best locations."

Daewoo Engineering & Construction has identified District 4 as a core site for next year's urban redevelopment projects and has entered the competition. Although the company initially showed interest in District 3-where Samsung C&T expressed intent to win the contract-it appears to have decided to focus on District 4. A representative from Daewoo Engineering & Construction said, "We comprehensively considered the symbolic significance of the Seongsu Strategic Redevelopment Zone and the area's future development potential," and added, "We plan to present a landmark design that will set a new standard for the Seongsu area, along with competitive business terms that will provide tangible benefits to association members."

Meanwhile, District 1, which previously canceled a bid announcement, will hold another on-site briefing session for rebidding on the 30th. In the first round, both Hyundai Engineering & Construction and HDC Hyundai Development Company-strong competitors-did not attend the briefing session, making a private contract with GS Engineering & Construction likely.