Daewoo E&C chairman meets Tanzanian president

Daewoo Engineering & Construction Chairman Jung Won-ju (right), who doubles as chairman of Herald Media Group, presents a plaque of a Korea Herald article on Tanzania and its economy to Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan at a meeting held in Seoul on Sunday. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)

Daewoo Engineering & Construction’s Chairman Jung Won-ju, who doubles as chairman of Herald Media Group, met with Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Sunday to discuss measures to expand South Korean construction companies into Africa and to strengthen strategic cooperation with each other.

“Daewoo E&C has conducted around 280 projects in Africa worth $32 billion. ... We have recently finished the construction of the Botswana -Zambia bridge,” said Jung.

“Daewoo E&C has not entered the Tanzanian market so far, however, with the visit of the president here today, we can surely enter and can have more support in terms of logistics,” he added.

The memorandum of understanding signed between Tanzanian and South Korean governments at a summit between two state leaders last week would serve as a stepping stone for Korean businesses to enter the Tanzanian market, said Jung.

President Hassan told Jung and other participants that investment in Tanzanian infrastructure will play an important role in the country's economic development, adding that cooperation with private companies from South Korea will help the African country's growth.

Sunday's meeting, organized by Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party and Korea Finance for Construction ahead of the Korea-Africa Summit on Tuesday, took place to discuss Korean construction companies’ wishes for entry into Tanzania and to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the infrastructure sector.

Samsung C&T’s Ji Hyung-geun and Hyundai Engineering & Construction’s Yoon Young-joon also participated in the meeting, requesting the continued interest and support of the two governments so that Korean builders can actively participate in the Tanzanian energy and infrastructure construction market.

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)

Sanjay Kumar(sanjaykumar@heraldcorp.com)