Samsung C&T-Sumitomo consortium wins $3.7 billion Qatar project

An international consortium involving South Korea’s Samsung C&T Corp. and financial firms has won a $3.7 billion project to build a desalination plant and a power plant in Qatar.

Samsung C&T, the construction and trading arm of Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, said on Tuesday that the consortium won the project from the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corp., also known as Kahramaa.

The project involves building a 2.4 GW combined cycle gas power plant and a desalination plant capable of producing 500,000 tons of water daily.

The facilities will be built in the Ras Abu Fontas industrial area, 18 km southeast of Doha, Qatar's capital.

Once operating by 2029, the plants will supply about 16% of Qatar’s total electricity and 17% of its desalinated water.

The electricity and water produced by the plants will be sold to Kahramaa for 25 years.

Total project costs, including design, construction and procurement, are estimated at $3.7 billion.

Samsung C&T is the sole contractor responsible for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for the project.

"Given that this is a national infrastructure project for Qatar, our prior project experience and the strong trust we have built played a significant role in securing this contract,” said Lee Byung-soo, head of Samsung C&T's energy solution division.

‘ONE TEAM KOREA’

The consortium comprises the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corp. (KIND), Korea Southern Power Co., Samsung C&T, Japan's Sumitomo Corp. and Shikoku Electric Power Co.

Sumitomo is the lead and largest stakeholder in the project.

Samsung said Korean partners joined forces with domestic financial institutions to form “One Team Korea” to arrange financing.

Financial partners include the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea Development Bank and Woori Bank.

Unlike previous overseas projects, in which Korean builders’ role was largely limited to construction, this project includes equity investments, making it an investment-development project.

The latest Qatar project is the largest overseas investment-development project involving Korean companies this year.

KIND and Korea Southern Power, which are equity investors, will receive returns in line with their stake holdings once the facilities are up and running.

The Korean government aims to secure $10 billion in overseas investment-construction projects by 2030.

Kim Bok-hwan, KIND chief executive, said, "The Qatar project is a high-value-added overseas investment-development project with significant economic ripple effects. It exemplifies how the collaborative One Team Korea approach, supported by the government and cooperation between the public and private sectors, can enhance Korea’s global competitiveness in both construction and finance."

Write to Jin-Woo Park at jwp@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.