SSANGYONG Engineering & Construction has won a 35 billion won (S$40.5 million) deal to build a premium shopping centre in Singapore, the latest boost to its growing presence in one of Asia's hottest construction markets.
Korea's 15th-largest builder signed the contract with City Development Ltd, the largest property developer of Singapore, on Thursday. Ssangyong will design and construct a two-storey luxury mall with a basement by April 2012 beside W Singapore Sentosa Cove Hotel, which is also being built by Ssangyong.
City Development, affiliated with Singapore's top conglomerate Hong Leong Group, operates some 110 hotels in 18 countries, including Millennium Seoul Hilton in Korea.
'We won the contract not by offering lower prices but because of relations between two company owners and the advantage of using materials and workforce already put into the hotel work was also taken into account,' Ssangyong said. 'The deal attests to our competitiveness in high-class construction in the world market.'
The Seoul-based contractor estimates construction costs for the mall will be several times higher than those for domestic multistorey apartments on account of the top-quality interior design and construction materials.
It will also employ environmentally-friendly technologies such as wind power generators, solar panels and Low-E Glass, whose lower heat conductivity minimizes temperature increases inside a building, the company said.
-- KOREA HERALD/ANN