Daegang-Hongdae Metropolitan Railway: Daewoo Engineering & Construction Withdraws

Daewoo Engineering & Construction announced on the 10th that it has terminated its contract for the construction of the Daegang-Hongdae Metropolitan Railway private investment project.

This project involves constructing a metropolitan railway spanning a total length of 20 kilometers, connecting Daejang New Town in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to Hongdae Entrance Station. The project was initially proposed by Hyundai Engineering & Construction in 2020, which then formed a consortium that was selected as the preferred bidder in 2023. Daewoo Engineering & Construction signed a construction contract with the consortium in June 2024. At the time of the preferred bidder selection, the target was to begin construction in 2025 and open the line in 2031. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved the implementation plan in September of last year, bringing the project's major procedures close to completion.

Route map of the upcoming Daejang-Hongdae Line. Provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Expectations were high in surrounding areas, as railway accessibility is relatively low in the Seoul metropolitan area. With Daewoo Engineering & Construction now terminating the contract and leaving the consortium, it is expected that other construction companies may participate or that the existing consortium members will redistribute Daewoo Engineering & Construction’s share among themselves. It has been reported that follow-up measures have not yet been specifically decided. Daewoo Engineering & Construction was originally in charge of constructing Section 2 of the project.

Daewoo Engineering & Construction explained that this was a portfolio adjustment for "selection and concentration." A company official stated, "We made this decision to better fulfill our role as lead manager for the Dongbu Expressway and the GTX-B Line in the Seoul metropolitan area, and to focus our capabilities this year on the Gadukdo and Wirye-Gwacheon metropolitan railway projects."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.