S. Korean constructors win $6bn refinery deal in Iraq

A consortium of four major South Korean construction companies has won a $6.04 billion deal to build an oil refinery in Iraq, AFP reports citing two of the companies. Hyundai Construction, Hyundai Engineering, GS Construction and SK Construction won the bid from Iraq's State Company for Oil Projects (SCOP). Under the deal, the four firms will build the plant capable each day of refining 140,000 barrels of crude oil in Karbala, about 120 kilometres (75 miles) south of Baghdad, Hyundai Construction and GS said in a regulatory filing. The construction will last 54 months, the two firms said without providing a start date. The two Hyundai subsidiaries have a combined 37.5-percent stake in the project, with GS claiming the same portion and SK Construction 25 percent. South Korean firms have stepped up efforts in recent years to tap into the oil-rich Middle East region, seeking to build and upgrade energy infrastructure and homes. Hyundai Heavy Industries -- the world's top shipbuilder -- won a $3.3 billion order last August to build a steam power plant in Saudi Arabia after a series of similar deals in the country. Seoul-based Hanwha Group won a $7.75 billion deal with Iraq in 2012 to build 100,000 homes on the outskirt of Baghdad in a project aimed at addressing a massive housing shortfall.