LS Cable completes undersea HVDC cable plant

South Korea’s major cable manufacturer LS Cable & System Ltd. has completed the construction of Asia's largest high-voltage direct current (HVDC) undersea cable factory and is set to secure leadership in the undersea cable market.

According to LS Cable, the new plant located in Donghae City, Gangwon Province, was completed on Tuesday. This is Asia's largest dedicated production facility for HVDC undersea cables.

The completion ceremony was attended by over 100 key personnel, including LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-eun, LS Corporation CEO Myung Roe-hyun and LS Cable CEO Koo Bon-kyu.

The factory began construction in July 2021, and the amount of investment in its construction was 190 billion won ($142 million). The factory occupies an area of 34,816 square meters, including a 172-meter high ultra-high-rise production tower (vertical continuous vulcanization system).

"Large-scale HVDC projects worth billions of dollars are underway, mainly in Europe, in relation to the carbon neutrality trend," he company stated. "We have prepared for business expansion through preemptive investments, such as expanding the factory and acquiring KT Submarine."

LS Cable built Korea's first undersea cable plant in Donghae City in 2008 and has since invested approximately 700 billion won ($522 million) to expand its undersea cable capacity. Recently, expectations for the expansion of construction projects have grown as LS Cable acquired KT Submarine's equity stake.

"The completion of the HVDC-dedicated factory will be an accelerator of growth in the era of energy transition and the rising trend of the power industry," LS Cable CEO Koo Bon-kyu said. "We will contribute to strengthening the competitiveness of the country as well as the development of the power industry by establishing an efficient energy network."

Write to Jeong-Soo Hwang at hjs@hankyung.com