South Korean construction companies have surpassed $1tn in accumulated overseas contracts, the Korea Bizwire reported, citing a domestic transport ministry statement.

The achievement comes nearly six decades after Hyundai Engineering & Construction secured its first international contract, an expressway project in Thailand in November 1965.

In the January-November period of 2024, South Korean companies amassed $32.69bn in overseas contracts, as revealed by the International Contractors Association of Korea.

This brought the total to $996.5bn by the end of November.

Although December's figures were pending at the time of the report, the transport ministry confirmed that the cumulative value of contracts had exceeded $1trn within the month.

The ministry highlighted that nearly half of the orders in 2024 originated from Saudi Arabia, demonstrating the country's significant role in South Korea's construction sector expansion.

Despite not meeting the annual target of $40bn for 2024, the total value of contracts for the year was the highest since 2015, when overseas construction deals reached $46.1bn.

South Korea's construction companies secured nearly $10bn in orders from the Middle East until June 2024, marking significant growth compared to 2023, according to a Yonhap News Agency report last year.

According to the International Contractors Association of Korea, domestic builders secured $9.98bn in Middle East orders from January to May 2024, more than six times the $1.5bn reported during the same period in 2023.

Recently, data released by the Korea Construction Association indicated that the country’s construction industry is expected to experience a wage increase of approximately 2% in the first half (H1) of 2025 compared to H1 2024.