South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. (Hyundai E&C) landed a 2.9 trillion won ($2.4 billion) order to build a large-scale seawater supply facility in Iraq, hitting big in its first overseas order for the year.

Hyundai E&C said on Wednesday that it won the preliminary award from Iraq’s state-run Basrah Oil Company for the $2.45 billion Common Seawater Supply Project that involves building a seawater disposal plant that allows up to 5 million barrels of water production per day to be injected to the oil well to increase crude supply from an oil field in southern Basra in Iraq. Hyundai E&C will exclusively build the facility for completion in 49 months after breaking ground.

The builder said that it was able to secure the large-scale order based on trust from the Iraqi government and the oil company as it has been highly evaluated of its outstanding technical skills from previous projects in Iraq including the $6 billion order to build an oil refining facility in Karbala.

Hyundai E&C shares closed Wednesday 2 percent up at 50,200 won.

The Korean government did its part by cementing friendly relations with Iraq through the momentum of celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations earlier this year. It sent a group of special delegation to Iraq to build practical cooperative relationship.

Chung Jin-haeng, vice chairman of Hyundai E&C, who formerly worked at Hyundai Motor until last year, also visited Iraq twice as part of efforts to win the latest order. He has also been focusing on expanding overseas order network by reviewing sites in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Hyundai E&C said that construction and operations of the seawater supply facility will not only help increase crude production in Iraq but also contribute to boosting regional economic growth.

The company added that it is in a more favorable position than others in winning additional orders in Iraq where a string of orders are expected in diverse sectors including oil refinery, power facility, and housing, under Iraq’s long-term redevelopment plan.

By Lee Ji-yong and Lee Eun-joo

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