Hanwha's construction division, Lotte E&C, and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction are expected to join the Daewoo E&C consortium, which is seen as a strong contender to bid for the site preparation work for Gadeokdo New Airport.
According to the construction industry on Jan. 8, Daewoo E&C will hold a meeting on Jan. 10 to form a consortium for the Gadeokdo New Airport construction project. The move is to apply for the prequalification (PQ) for bidders by the Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation, which accepts applications through the 16th.
Hanwha's construction division, Lotte E&C, and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction are expected to take part in the consortium formation meeting led by Daewoo E&C. A construction industry official said, "The re-run bidding for the Gadeokdo New Airport construction has improved terms for cost, duration, and deadline compared with before, but the Daewoo E&C consortium will likely enter alone without competition," adding, "I understand that Hanwha's construction division, Lotte E&C, and HJ Shipbuilding & Construction are strong candidates to join as new members of the Daewoo E&C consortium."
Because the Gadeokdo New Airport project involves reclaiming the sea and building an airport on soft ground, the construction industry views it as a high-difficulty project.
Earlier, in May 2024, the government set the construction period for Gadeokdo New Airport at 84 months and sought a contractor, but competitive bidding failed to materialize and the tender fell through four times. It then signed a negotiated contract in October the same year with a Hyundai E&C consortium that submitted a sole bid.
However, in April last year, the Hyundai E&C consortium asked the government to raise construction costs and extend the deadline to ensure safety and quality in building Gadeokdo New Airport. When the government did not accept the request, the Hyundai E&C consortium withdrew from the project a month later.
Seven months after the Hyundai E&C consortium stepped away, the government issued a re-bid notice for the Gadeokdo New Airport construction in December last year. The construction period was extended by 22 months, from the original 84 months to 106 months, and the construction cost was increased by about 170 billion won, from 10.53 trillion won to 10.7 trillion won. The completion and opening timeline was also extended from 2029–2030 to 2035.
The Gadeokdo New Airport Construction Corporation plans to hold a site briefing on the 29th for qualified firms after reviewing applicants that submit PQ documents by the 16th. After six months to prepare the basic design documents (detailed design for priority construction segments), the corporation will conduct a design review and bid price evaluation, and aims to select the detailed design winner in August next year.
The Gadeokdo New Airport development is a project to build a gateway airport for the Busan, Ulsan, and South Gyeongsang area, with a total project budget of 16 trillion won.