Hanwha’s major construction projects under way

With the aim of becoming one of the major global builders, Hanwha Engineering and Construction has successfully won large-scale construction projects nearly all over the world.

One of the latest projects the company won is to build the world’s largest domed arena near Manila.

In August, Hanwha began work on the world’s largest domed arena in the Philippines. The work for the $175 million contract was signed on Aug. 4.

The facility located near Manila, named the Philippine Arena, will be fitted with 50,000 seats and its domed roof will be nearly 36,000 square meters, making it the world’s largest domed arena, the company said.

Hanwha E&C said that the work will be carried out over 30 months to be finished early 2014.

In May, Hanwha signed a $7.25 billion contract with Iraq’s National Investment Commission.

The project is the largest overseas construction project to be won by a Korean construction firm.

Under the contract, Hanwha will build a planned town at a location 25 kilometers east of central Baghdad, the company said.

The town will be built over an area of 1,830 hectares and contain 100,000 new homes, the company said.

In April, the Korean company also signed a $1.05 billion deal to build a power station and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.

The builder said it is to establish the plant at Yanbu industrial complex, the biggest of its kind in Saudi Arabia and located on the western side of the country, by 2014 under the deal with Marafiq, a Saudi Arabian power and water utility company.

Facilities to be built at the site include three 230 megawatt-steam turbine power generators, three 830-ton boilers and ones for desalination.

The company is also seeking business opportunities in unexplored fields in Mongolia and Nigeria. The business areas include mineral resources, construction, hotel & resort and finance.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)