[비즈한국] It has been revealed that the order books for this year of Hyundai Engineering & Construction (Hyundai E&C) and Samsung C&T, the current leaders in urban maintenance project contracts, have been concentrated on large-scale projects in the Gangnam area of Seoul. Of the 17.455 trillion won secured by the two companies so far, 65% originated from the three districts of Gangnam (Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa). Apgujeong reconstruction projects account for 65% of Hyundai E&C's total order volume and 29% of Samsung C&T's. With the average contract value per project exceeding 1 trillion won, a clear trend of selective bidding focused on large, core project sites has emerged.
According to the construction industry, Hyundai E&C recorded a cumulative order total of 10.118 trillion won for maintenance projects this year after simultaneously securing contracts for the Yeouido Gwangjang Apartment 38-1 reconstruction, Ulsan Nam-gu B-01 district redevelopment, and Daegu Myeongnyun district redevelopment on the 19th. The scale of the projects won on that day included 546.3 billion won for Yeouido Gwangjang Apartment, 711 billion won for Ulsan Nam-gu B-01, and 500.1 billion won for Daegu Myeongnyun, totaling 1.7574 trillion won.
With this, Hyundai E&C became the first domestic construction company to exceed 10 trillion won in maintenance project orders for two consecutive years. After breaking the industry record last year by securing 10.5105 trillion won across 11 project sites, the company reached the 10 trillion won mark in September this year. Hyundai E&C stated that it has built a portfolio that encompasses core locations in Yeouido, the Seoul metropolitan area, and other provinces, in addition to the Apgujeong reconstruction projects.
A Hyundai E&C official stated, "This achievement is the result of the trust placed in us by the union members, based on our brand, technical prowess, financial competitiveness, and our ability to take full responsibility until project completion," adding, "We will continue to carefully review business feasibility and future value, and successfully complete the projects we have won to provide the top-tier residential value that our customers expect."
Samsung C&T also climbed to second place in the industry, surpassing 7 trillion won in maintenance project orders this year. By securing the construction rights for the Seongsu Strategic Maintenance District 3 redevelopment on the same day, its cumulative orders increased to 7.337 trillion won. The construction cost for Seongsu District 3 is 1.8275 trillion won. Having secured 9.2388 trillion won from 14 sites last year, Samsung C&T surpassed GS E&C (5.5477 trillion won) by locking in approximately 80% of last year's annual total before the end of the third quarter this year.
A notable point is the increase in the scale of the maintenance projects won by the two major builders. Last year, Samsung C&T and Hyundai E&C secured a total of 19.7493 trillion won from 25 projects, with an average contract size of about 790 billion won. This year, through September, they secured 17.455 trillion won across 16 projects, increasing the average contract value to approximately 1.09 trillion won. This means the scale of each project has grown by about 300 billion won (38%) in just one year.
The maintenance projects won by these two companies were concentrated in Seoul. Samsung C&T won all 8 of its maintenance projects this year in Seoul, meaning the entire 7.337 trillion won in orders originated from the capital. While 4 of the 8 projects won by Hyundai E&C were in Seoul, those projects accounted for 7.8152 trillion won, or 77% of its total orders. The combined Seoul maintenance project orders for the two companies reached 15.1522 trillion won, accounting for 87% of their total volume.
Within Seoul, the weight of the Gangnam-3 districts, and Apgujeong in particular, was significant. The proportion of the two companies' orders coming from the Gangnam-3 districts rose from 35% annually last year to 65% through September this year. Samsung C&T secured 4.7163 trillion won from 5 sites, including Daechi Ssangyong 1st, Apgujeong District 4, Shinbanpo 19th and 25th, Bangbae Shin-Samho, and Gaepo Woosung 4th, accounting for 64% of its total. Hyundai E&C secured 6.6082 trillion won from just two sites, Apgujeong District 3 and 5, accounting for 65% of its total. Specifically, the proportion of orders from Apgujeong reached 29% for Samsung C&T and 65% for Hyundai E&C.
Although the scale of orders has grown, there were few project sites where the construction companies competed directly against one another. Of the 16 projects secured by the two companies this year, competitive bidding took place only in two instances: Samsung C&T's Shinbanpo 19th/25th and the Hyundai E&C/Hanwha partnership for Apgujeong District 5. In all other cases, competitive bidding did not occur, and the contracts were secured via private agreement. This is interpreted as a clear shift toward avoiding excessive competition and selectively pursuing core projects with high business feasibility.
The competition between the two companies for the top spot in maintenance project orders is expected to continue until the end of the year. Samsung C&T has announced plans to bid for the Yeouido Sibeom Apartment and Mok-dong Complex 13 projects in the fourth quarter. Both are large-scale projects with construction costs exceeding 2 trillion won each, and if successful, its total order volume for the year is expected to surpass 10 trillion won. Hyundai E&C is also pushing to secure the Mok-dong Complex 10 and Yongsan Hangang-ro district projects to further boost its annual order volume.
Meanwhile, the trend of maintenance project orders being concentrated among large construction companies continues. According to Yuanta Securities, as of the 25th of last month, the total order volume for the top 10 construction companies by construction capacity evaluation was 30.87 trillion won. Of this, the three companies—Hyundai E&C, GS E&C, and Samsung C&T—accounted for a combined 17.96 trillion won (58%). Kim Do-yeop, a researcher at Yuanta Securities, analyzed, "There is a high proportion of orders going to large-scale companies equipped with strong brands and financial power, centered on core project sites in Seoul."