Construction contracts fall 6.3% in Q1 on fewer public, private projects

[Photo by Park Hyung-ki]

The value of construction contracts in South Korea fell more than 6 percent in the first quarter on a decline in both public and private projects, data showed Monday.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the value of construction contracts stood at 68.4 trillion won ($53 billion) in the January-March period, down 6.3 percent from the same period a year ago.

The quarterly value fell for two straight quarters after an 18.4 percent decline in the fourth quarter last year.

The value of public works, mainly offered by the government and local municipalities, stood at 19.4 trillion won, down 3.8 percent from the previous year. The private sector saw a 7.3 percent plunge in the value of construction contracts to 49 trillion won.

By type, contracts for civil engineering projects climbed 20.3 percent on year to 28 trillion won in the first quarter. The surge came with increased industrial equipment from the country’s largest petrochemical facility worth 9.2 trillion won, dubbed as the Shaheen Project.

Contracts for residential and industrial buildings plummeted by 18.8 percent to 40.4 trillion won.

The value of contracts clinched by the country’s top 50 industry players rose 12 percent on year to 31 trillion won. The value of the bottom 50 ranks fell 27.8 percent to 3.6 trillion won.

By construction region, the value of contracts in the Seoul and Gyeonggi area shrank 21 percent to 26.4 trillion, while those in other parts of the country rose 6.1 percent to 42 trillion won.