[비즈한국] Last year, South Korea's overseas construction order performance reached its highest level in 11 years. The annual overseas construction order volume hit $47.27 billion (69 trillion won), with a significant increase in orders from the European region. Analysts suggest that while the share of the European market is expanding in the wake of the Czech nuclear power plant contract, the order structure is also being reorganized around high-value-added sectors such as nuclear power and industrial plants.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 9th that last year's overseas construction orders totaled $47.27 billion. This marks the highest annual performance in 11 years since reaching $66 billion in 2014. Annual overseas construction orders rebounded to $30.98 billion in 2022, followed by $33.31 billion in 2023, $37.11 billion in 2024, and $47.27 billion in 2025, recording four consecutive years of growth. It is the first time since 2015 ($46.1 billion) that the annual overseas construction order volume has exceeded $40 billion.
A significant portion of the overseas construction orders comes from the new Czech nuclear power plant project. In June last year, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a main contract with the Dukovany II nuclear power plant to supply two 1,000MW-class Korean-style 'APR1000' nuclear reactors to the Dukovany region in the Czech Republic. The contract is worth $18.72 billion (27 trillion won). As the lead contractor for this project, KHNP plans to provide the entire scope of nuclear power plant construction along with KEPCO E&C052690 (design), Doosan Enerbility034020 (main equipment and construction), Daewoo E&C047040 (construction), KEPCO NF (nuclear fuel), and KEPCO KPS051600 (commissioning and maintenance).
By region, Europe accounted for $20.2 billion (42.6%), a fourfold increase compared to the previous year, while orders from the Middle East decreased by approximately 36% to $11.9 billion (25.1%). North America and the Pacific followed with $6.8 billion (14.3%). By country, the Czech Republic led with $18.7 billion (39.6%), followed by the United States at $5.8 billion (12.3%) and Iraq at $3.5 billion (7.3%). By sector, industrial plants accounted for $35.3 billion (74.6%), construction for $7.2 billion (15.3%), and electricity for $1.8 billion (3.9%). By project type, construction contracts accounted for $45.5 billion (96.3%) and investment development projects for $1.77 billion (3.7%).
The order portfolio is also diversifying. Key emerging fields include carbon capture, energy storage systems (ESS), and data center construction. Last year, the company pioneered a new field by winning a large-scale project ($1.37 billion) in Qatar to capture, compress, transport, and store carbon dioxide, a byproduct of LNG production plants. Following its initial entry into Australia and South Africa in 2022, energy storage systems (ESS) saw $730 million in orders last year, driving growth in the electrical sector. New entries are also being made into data center construction.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated, "Starting with the Czech Dukovany order last year, rapid growth in the European market (a 298% increase compared to the previous year) and diversification into high-value-added sectors such as plants and nuclear power are analyzed to be the key driving forces behind this performance."