The South Korean construction and engineering company ‘Daewoo E&C’ intends to expand its operations in the Turkmen market by offering solutions in the fields of water management and environmental infrastructure. This was reported by the Orient news agency.

On the sidelines of the Turkmen-Korean Business Forum in Seoul, ‘Daewoo E&C’ CEO Lee Kang-seok and the Chairman of Turkmenistan’s State Committee for Water Management, Durdy Genjiev, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the project to modernise the Karakum Canal.

The signing took place following on from agreements reached during the state visit by the President of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdimuhamedov, to the Republic of Korea, when the parties agreed on the introduction of South Korean water-saving technologies. ‘Daewoo E&C’ is considering the possibility of participating in the reconstruction of a section of the canal approximately 250 kilometres long. The Karakum Canal is an irrigation artery approximately 1,100 kilometres long, running from east to west across Turkmenistan from the Amu Darya and supplying water to the country’s agriculture, industry and settlements.

The company’s entry into the Turkmen market is linked to the plans of ‘Daewoo E&C’ Chairman, Jung Won-Ju, to develop business in Central Asia with Turkmenistan as a base. Since 2023, he has visited Ashgabat on several occasions for negotiations with the country’s leadership and ministries. In May last year, ‘Daewoo E&C’ signed a contract worth $784 million with the State Concern ‘Türkmenhimiýa’ to build a mineral fertiliser plant in Turkmenabat with an annual capacity of 350,000 tonnes of phosphate fertiliser and 100,000 tonnes of ammonium sulphate.

According to the South Korean publication Insight.co.kr, the company also hopes to participate in projects involving the construction of petrochemical complexes, the development of gas fields, and the expansion of the railway network and urban infrastructure. ‘Daewoo E&C’ notes that the agreements reached form the basis for the company’s continued involvement in the modernisation of Turkmenistan’s infrastructure.