President of Korea visits Burj Dubai Tower
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Armed with state-of-the-art technology and a pioneering spirit, Samsung Engineering and Construction is emerging as a world-class builder of tall towers.
The company, one of the divisions of Samsung Corp., began to build an impressive reputation in the world skyscraper market after it won the contract to construct the 92-story Petronas Twin Towers (452 meters) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 1993.
Since then, the company has completed numerous mega-high-rise building projects, such as the fit-out works of the 101-story Taipei Financial Center (509 meters), which is currently the world's tallest building.
Such landmark achievements in the skyscraper construction market helped the company win a large-scale project to build the world's tallest tower in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.
The Samsung-led consortium, which included Belgium's Besix and the UAE's Arabtec, won the $900 million project, by defeating seven other consortia, in December 2004.
The construction of
the "Burj Dubai" tower is part of the UAE's $8 billion 500-acre Downtown Dubai Development Project, which also includes the building of a mammoth shopping mall and a rich residential complex.
It will have a total floor area of about 460,000 square meters.
"We awarded the contract to Samsung Corp. because it has a reputation for unrivalled expertise in constructing tall towers," said Issam Galadari, vice chairman of Emaar Properties in the UAE, the company in charge of the project. Emaar Properties is the UAE's largest real estate developer invested by its government.
Samsung officials said the company was able to win the project thanks to its achievements in building other skyscrapers around the world with more than 50 stories each and the possession of more than 120 experts in engineering.
They added that by winning this project, Samsung construction has now been involved in the construction of the world's three tallest towers - the Burj Dubai, the Taipei Financial Center, and Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers.
They said they expect that their successful bid for the project will help the company secure a leading position in the world's skyscraper construction market.
"When the Burj Dubai project is completed in 2008, our company will be the world's undisputed leader in skyscraper construction," said a company official.
Lee Sang-dae, president and CEO of Samsung Corp.'s engineering and construction division, said, "The company gained credibility in the world skyscraper construction market, which is forecast to grow to $40 billion by 2010, by winning the bid in Dubai."
"We expect to win more high-rise building construction contracts around the world and more construction orders in the Middle East."
During his three-day visit to the UAE, which starts today, President Roh Moo-hyun is expected to visit Dubai to tour the construction site for the Burj Dubai and offer his encouragement to company construction officials. It is the first time that a Korean President has made an official visit to the UAE. Dubai is growing into a dynamic international trade zone where a number of local companies, including Samsung construction, are actively engaged in business.
The company was awarded first prize in the national customer satisfaction index on housing for the eighth consecutive year in 2005 and placed first in the evaluation of domestic builders in 2004 and 2005.
The Korea Herald
