Hyundai and GS Smile, DL Stumbles... Diverging Fortunes for Top 5 Builders in Urban Renewal Orders in H1 [Real Estate AtoZ]

Top Five Builders Secure 21 Trillion Won in New Urban Renewal Orders
Hyundai and GS Surpass 7 Trillion Won in New Contracts Over Five Months
DL E&C Lags Behind with Weak Performance in the First Half
Seongsu and Mok-dong to See Major Contra

This year, a bidding war worth 80 trillion won is unfolding in Seoul, centered around key development sites along the so-called "Apyemokseong" (Apgujeong, Yeouido, Mok-dong, Seongsu) Han River Belt, leading to mixed fortunes among the five major construction companies. Hyundai Engineering & Construction and GS E&C have each secured more than 7 trillion won in new orders in the first half of the year, while DL E&C has yet to win its first order, showing a sluggish performance.

According to the maintenance industry on June 3, the total value of new urban maintenance orders secured by the top five construction companies by construction capability (Samsung C&T, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daewoo E&C, DL E&C, and GS E&C) from January to May this year amounted to 21.3273 trillion won. Among them, Hyundai Engineering & Construction led with 7.6946 trillion won, followed by GS E&C (7.4694 trillion won), Samsung C&T (3.248 trillion won), and Daewoo E&C (2.9153 trillion won).

Hyundai Engineering & Construction's urban maintenance order volume has already surpassed half of this year's annual target of 12 trillion won. On May 30, Hyundai secured the reconstruction project for Apgujeong District 5, and earlier, it signed a private contract worth 5.561 trillion won for Apgujeong District 3.

GS E&C has also come close to its annual order target of 8 trillion won over the past five months. Early this year, it won the contracts for Songpa Hanyang Phase 2 (685.6 billion won) and Gaepo Woosung Phase 6 reconstruction (215.4 billion won). In April, the company secured the contract for District 1 of the Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone (2.154 trillion won), which was the first to begin the selection of a contractor. On May 30, GS E&C was also selected as the new contractor for the redevelopment of Seongnam Sangdaewon District 2 (1.9217 trillion won).

Samsung C&T started in April by winning the Daechi Ssangyong Phase 1 reconstruction (689.2 billion won), followed by securing a private contract for Apgujeong District 4 reconstruction (2.1154 trillion won). Last month, it also won the contract for the integrated reconstruction of Sinbanpo 19 and 25 (443.4 billion won). Samsung C&T has raised its annual urban maintenance order target by 70%, from the previous 7.7 trillion won to 13 trillion won.

Daewoo E&C secured its first order of the year in January with the redevelopment of Sajik District 4 in Busan (792.3 billion won) and went on to win contracts for six projects in total, including the redevelopment of the area around Sini-mun Station (529.2 billion won) and Ansan Gojan Yeonrip District 5 (486.4 billion won). Currently, the company is competing with Lotte E&C for the bid for Seongsu Strategic Maintenance District 4 in Seoul. It is also actively considering participating in the bids for Mok-dong New Town Complexes 8, 11, and 14.

On the other hand, DL E&C has shown some weakness in the first half. Although it was recently selected as the preferred bidder for the Mok-dong Complex 6 reconstruction, a project worth 1.2868 trillion won, it has not secured any urban maintenance orders in the past five months, making it urgent to secure orders in the second half. Furthermore, its order backlog in the plant division for the first quarter of this year (2.1291 trillion won) has more than halved compared to the same period last year (4.337 trillion won), increasing the need to fill this gap through its housing division. As a result, the company is expected to actively participate in bidding for projects such as Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone District 2 in the second half of the year.

The maintenance industry is closely watching the bidding wars set to unfold in Yeouido, Seongsu, and Mok-dong in the second half of this year. In Mok-dong, among the 14 complexes of Mok-dong New Town, Complexes 4 and 8 are scheduled to announce contractor bids in July and August, respectively. Seongsu Strategic Maintenance Zone Districts 2 and 3 are expected to announce contractor bids this month and later in the second half, respectively. Last month, Yeouido's Shibeom and Mokhwa Apartments also started the contractor selection process by announcing bids.

An industry official said, "Sites along the Han River, such as Apgujeong and Yeouido, are not only highly profitable but also hold significant symbolic value that determines future brand competitiveness," adding, "Construction companies are expected to engage in fierce competition to secure contracts for key sites along the Han River Belt."

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