Dongbu wins W830b in public contracts, pushing this year's new orders past W2tr

Dongbu secured two major public projects in the rail and housing sectors within two days, pushing its new orders this year past 2 trillion won ($1.38 billion). The wins span both civil engineering and building construction, broadening the company's contract portfolio.

Dongbu said Thursday it had been selected as the qualified bidder for detailed design on the Southern Inland Railway Section 10 construction project, which Korea National Railway tendered under a basic-design technical proposal method.

The company was also named the preferred negotiating party for a combined private-participation public housing project covering the Goyang Changneung B-1BL and Yangju Goeup A-12BL sites, tendered by the Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

The two contracts together are valued at 838.7 billion won. The Southern Inland Railway Section 10 accounts for about 271 billion won, while the Goyang Changneung and Yangju Goeup housing project is worth about 567.7 billion won. Dongbu will serve as the lead consortium member on both.

With these awards, Dongbu's cumulative new orders for this year reached approximately 2.04 trillion won. The company built up its order book in the first half through public civil works, public housing, urban redevelopment and private construction, and has now added major projects in the second half as well.

The Southern Inland Railway Section 10 is part of a national core rail network project linking the greater Seoul area with the inland regions of South and North Gyeongsang provinces and the southern coast. Dongbu will construct 1.32 kilometers of mainline roadbed along with track, power, overhead catenary, and signaling and communications facilities in the Sadong-myeon area of Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province.

At the depot, the company will build key facilities required for railway operations, including earthworks, track, inspection equipment, architectural structures, mechanical systems and fire suppression systems. The construction period is approximately 58 months from the ground-breaking date.

Dongbu said it earned recognition for its technical competitiveness by presenting a construction and process management plan covering all core work categories — from roadbed and track to power, overhead catenary, signaling and communications, and the vehicle depot.

The Goyang Changneung B-1BL and Yangju Goeup A-12BL project is a combined private-participation public housing development tendered by LH. The Dongbu consortium was selected as the preferred negotiating party following an evaluation of its project proposal. The company will proceed through subsequent steps including negotiations with LH and the signing of a project agreement.

The combined site covers a total land area of approximately 95,838 square meters and a gross floor area of about 259,970 square meters. The Goyang Changneung B-1BL component will deliver 1,594 units in a building with 2 below-ground floors and 29 above-ground floors, while the Yangju Goeup A-12BL component will supply 138 units in a structure with 1 below-ground floor and 4 above-ground floors. Total supply across both sites comes to 1,732 units.

Dongbu views the back-to-back wins as confirmation that it is competitive in both the railway sector — which demands technical expertise and construction management capability — and private-participation public housing, where project planning, design and execution skills are paramount.

"By achieving consecutive results in a large-scale railway project and a private-participation public housing project — two fields that require very different technical and business capabilities — we have surpassed 2 trillion won in new orders this year," a Dongbu official said. "We will push ahead with follow-on design and negotiation procedures without delay, while continuing to expand a contract portfolio built on profitability and stability through selective bidding that rigorously examines project viability and cost competitiveness."