Asia > Eastern Asia > North Korea > Korean firms have been looking for new markets.

North Korea: Korean firms have been looking for new markets.

2010/09/24

The world's biggest fertilizer plant is currently under construction in the city of Oran on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria. The US$2.4 billion project is jointly run by the governments of Algeria and Oman but roughly 25 % is being handled by a Korean construction firm. Daewoo Engineering & Construction began work in October 2008 on the prime project by a Korean firm in Algeria since the 1990s.

With the Middle East becoming saturated, Korean firms have been looking for new markets. Presently a growing number of Korean builders including Hanwha, Samsung and Hyundai are receiving orders from Algeria.

Industry insiders say it indicates an improved evaluation of the technical skills of Korean firms in Africa.

Korean builders are as well taking orders from other north African nations such as Libya, Morocco and Egypt. The total amount of orders from the region increased from around $240 million in 2005 to over $6.8 billion in 2009.

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