By Editorial Writer Kim Hyung-suk of Sisaon
There is a massive construction boom in the global community again. Large-scale construction, which had been quiet for a while, has already begun or is ready to be ordered one after another due to high-tech urban projects, earthquakes, and wars.
They include Saudi Arabia's Neom Project, Turkiye's Great Earthquake Recovery Project, and Ukraine's post-war recovery project.
The United Arab Emirates praised Korean construction companies' technological prowess and ability to implement air in the construction of the Barakah nuclear power plant, promising large-scale investment in Korea as a top priority.
South Korea, China, and the United States have entered the race to win large-scale construction projects in the Middle East, and behind-the-scenes orders from Japan and other countries must have made significant progress.
Orders for such large projects are usually jointly carried out by private companies under the support of the government.
People around the construction industry are curious about the construction boom that has been brewing since the Middle East.
To what extent did our companies specify their orders? Is the cooperation system between the industry and the government in place? Is the partnership with large U.S. companies well established? Will our workers be able to shorten the air by lighting torches at night like 40 years ago? Can we once again impress the locals and create a second Middle East construction boom?"
It's hard to win a few weeks just by making a promise between countries.
So far, orders from each country have been concentrated on the Neom City project. The U.S., China, and South Korea started work first.
Following the Middle East construction performance from the 1970s to the early 1980s, South Korea has achieved tangible results through talks between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman.
In China, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia to dig into the recently estranged relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia and target Saudi Arabia.
They also signed a comprehensive partnership agreement between the two countries, discussing how to pay the price of crude oil in yuan instead of dollars.
However, the Air Force planes escorted during Xi Jinping's visit are also likely to be F-15 days purchased in the U.S., and Saudi Arabia still needs the protection of U.S. troops to counter Iranian pressure.
China's order war against Saudi Arabia, with low-wage workers at the forefront, should be seen as difficult to escape from the influence of U.S. companies that nestled early in the Neom City project.
In other words, cooperation with U.S. companies is bound to be important for the Neom City business.
The U.S. companies in charge of working on the Neom project are reportedly planning basic city plans by Bechtel, an infrastructure consulting firm Acom, and Morphosys, an architecture firm.
The main body of the project or the place of order is Saudi Arabia, but the overall practice of the project is dominated by U.S. companies with accumulated technology and know-how.
Korean companies have also suffered considerable disadvantages due to thorough supervision by U.S. companies during the first Middle East boom.
For example, the exterior of the building was ordered to be painted light yellow, and all construction had to be done again by painting it dark yellow.
Therefore, despite the Middle East boom, construction companies often said, "We lost money because of difficult supervision."
With such experience in mind, a company that performs comprehensive construction project management (PM) work has been created in Korea since the 1990s.
PM is a kind of comprehensive construction business that is in charge of planning, design, construction, and maintenance of construction projects.
In other words, it has taken its first step as a comprehensive construction company.
Hanmi Global (formerly Hanmi Parsons), the first runner, has already won orders for PM service services from the Neom City project.
It is expected that it will cooperate with construction companies to achieve results.
Some large construction companies also have similar functions.
Even so, strengthening cooperation with U.S. companies is essential.
This is because the cooperation of U.S. companies along with the ordering company is essential in the order competition with China and Japan.
The biggest problems that companies are currently worried about are construction workers and construction workers.
There is no way that the second Middle East boom in behavioral theory is possible.
The current working and working environment is different from the Middle East construction boom of the 1970s and early 1980s.
At that time, labor costs were low, many simple construction days were won, and the effect of manpower exports was great.
Now, a considerable amount of such construction has to be handed over to China and over to China and India.
It is necessary to focus on linking manufacturing investment and nuclear power technology while differentiating mainly by technology and planning power.
Construction workers therefore need more advanced functional personnel who can skillfully handle high-end devices and combination technologies than simple labor.
It cannot create a second Middle East boom by doing a job business on the construction board or leaving work with a tower crane standing instead of working because it does not cost more than the monthly fee.
While the government is protesting against labor unions and bickering at home, all large orders that the government has opened the way are likely to be transferred to third countries.
Korea's construction will have no place between developing countries, where labor and management are rushing together like Korea in the past, and advanced countries, which are rarely willing to give up their seats.
Promises between countries are only the first step. Companies have to finish, but it is difficult to target the market properly because companies have lost their strength.
Although the quality of work of North Korean workers in Thailand is relatively excellent, it is not as good as that of South Korean workers, and it goes without saying that the higher the proportion of South Korean workers in the field, the better.
Starting with Neom City, construction companies from around the world have been tested in the global market.
Turkiye's earthquake recovery project and Ukraine's post-war restoration project naturally pay attention to the construction situation in the Middle East, including the Neom City project.
Both earthquake recovery and post-war restoration work are advanced technologies, but they are bound to be construction that requires more construction capabilities of workers.
In other words, it is time for a major shift in union activities for our workers.
In other words, let's focus our capabilities on earning oil money from the Middle East far away, rather than cutting back on the domestic market.
In the international market, construction personnel must also be competitive.
I think the union should at least split the time to do vocational training and technical training.
In the future, companies are also encouraged to break away from the wrong habits of the past.
Collusion should also be avoided, but it is especially important to refrain from dumping competition.
In order to break the Japanese companies' main specialty of collusion, close cooperation with American companies, which act as a kind of control tower, is also necessary.
The role of the Korea Construction Association and the Overseas Construction Association will also be important.
It was the two pillars of product exports and overseas construction that drove our rapid growth.
It is expected to take a considerable period of time for the continuing trade deficit to recover.
In the overseas construction sector, as mentioned earlier, a large-scale market will be held soon.
This is why we should focus more on overseas construction orders for the time being.
Stories related to Korean Air Lines, which constantly carried workers, the fighting and diligence of Korean workers, and the behind-the-scenes stories of Chung Ju-yung and Choi Won-suk's large construction orders are all now legends.
They served as a driving force for the Korean economy and also instilled dreams in the people.
Construction union! If you have been so bad in the public, it is time to stop and give the people the dream of a "Middle East boom."