The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 16th that it will send a bid support team, led by Minister Park Sang-woo, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the 16th to the 19th to actively engage in bidding activities for various infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail, airports, and renewable energy.
This bid support team will include the Korea National Railway Authority, the Overseas Construction Association, Korea Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND), and corporations from the private sector.
Since the first contract in 1974, the cumulative contract amount in the UAE has reached $86.9 billion. In the first quarter of this year, contracts in the UAE amounted to approximately $2.4 billion, a figure that has increased more than sixfold compared to the same period last year.
The UAE is expanding investments not only in existing petrochemical plants but also in renewable energy fields such as low-carbon Taeyang and hydrogen in preparation for a post-oil era, as well as in transportation infrastructure such as rail and aviation.
The bid support team is scheduled to meet with Minister Suhail Mohamed Faris Al Mazrouei of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure on the morning of the 18th to discuss cooperation plans for transportation and energy infrastructure. The UAE government is promoting the construction of a high-speed railway between Abu Dhabi and Dubai at a speed of 350 km/h as a key national infrastructure.
The Ministry of Land is operating a 'National One Team' system with the Korea National Railway Authority, Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL), Hyundai Rotem, POSCO, and other private enterprises, having entered into a bidding competition after passing the preliminary qualification (PQ) for the UAE high-speed railway system and vehicle sector in February this year.
The bid support team will also discuss promoting cooperation projects in the renewable energy sector, such as Taeyang and hydrogen, which the UAE is pursuing. The plan also includes supporting the bidding for projects in the chemical and power plant areas where Korean corporations have strengths.
Recently, the UAE has been pushing to issue contracts for projects worth tens of billions of dollars, including crude oil storage facilities, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and combined cycle power generation.
In addition, the bid support team will coordinate with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure based on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed during the UAE President's state visit to Korea last year, combining the construction and operation technologies of Korean corporations with UAE financial technology to discuss business plans for infrastructure development in countries requiring post-war recovery and regions with high growth potential, such as Africa.
Furthermore, on the afternoon of the 17th, the bid support team will meet with Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Director General of Dubai Aviation, to promote the construction technology and experience of Incheon International Airport and support bidding for the $32 billion expansion project of Al Maktoum International Airport, while also discussing aviation cooperation between the two countries.
The Al Maktoum International Airport is a national project pursued by the Dubai Aviation Authority to transfer functions from the saturated Dubai International Airport, generating high interest among our corporations, and the Dubai Aviation Authority also welcomes our corporations' participation in the bidding process.
Minister Park noted, 'Overseas construction is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, and we have already achieved the remarkable feat of $1 trillion in contracts, supporting national economic growth,' adding, 'In the future, we will expand the overseas construction bidding, which has been concentrated on chemical and power plants, to include high-speed rail, airports, and renewable energy sectors to prepare for a post-oil era and strive to achieve $50 billion in contracts by 2025.'