Ssangyong wins 6-star Malaysian hotel order

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction said Wednesday it had signed a contact with Indonesia-based Rajawali Group for a project to build the six-star St. Regis Hotel and a convention center in Langkawi, Malaysia.

“The company sealed the 82 billion won ($81 million) contact to build facilities for the upcoming ASEAN Plus Three Summit in Malaysia,” the builder said in a press release. The gathering of Asian leaders in Langkawi, Malaysia, will be held in April 2015.

All 87 of the rooms will be high-end suites, the company added. 

The luxury hotel construction in Langkawi is one of the key features in the Malaysian government’s premium resort development plan, aimed at transforming the islands into a world-class tourist destination comparable to Bali or Monaco before the global event.

“The company has made all-out efforts to win an additional contract for a project to develop Langkawi since it completed civil work for the site in August last year,’’ a company official said.

The nation’s 13th-largest builder by construction capacity raised hopes that the overseas deal would boost the company’s efforts to end the court protection placed on it.

“The hotel deal in Malaysia will give the company a leg up as it tries to redeem its reputation as a global builder of premium commercial buildings,’’ the company said.

Ssangyong E&C has been targeting overseas orders since it filed for court protection in December. Despite financial hardship, the builder said that it had been running a total of 18 building projects in eight countries this year, including Singapore, India and Iraq, worth a total of some 3 trillion won.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)