Daewoo Engineering & Construction has won an 868.6 billion-won ($639.1 million) contract to develop Zone 1 of the Yongin Advanced System Semiconductor Cluster National Industrial Complex, the largest public construction project Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) has commissioned this year.

The company announced on Sept. 29 that its consortium topped the project plan evaluation under the Construction Management at Risk (CMR) method with a total score of 310.8 points. Daewoo E&C leads the consortium, with Namkwang Construction, Jungheung Construction and Samho Construction participating. Daewoo E&C's share of the award stands at 416.9 billion won, or 48% of the total bid.

The contract covers site development and structures across roughly 3.45 million square meters in Idong-eup and Namsa-eup in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. That zone represents about 44% of the entire Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex site, making it the core area of the project. The parcel includes the planned location for Samsung Electronics' first semiconductor fab at the cluster — the reason Korean policymakers regard Yongin as a strategic base for national semiconductor competitiveness.

The consortium's first task is basic infrastructure: roads, water supply and sewage systems needed to make the industrial complex operable. Construction is expected to begin within the year.

The award reflects Daewoo E&C's track record with LH. Over the past three years the company has completed seven private-participation public housing projects commissioned by the agency, and it has handled large-scale public-private joint developments including the Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town. More recently, Daewoo E&C has taken part in major LH-led urban renewal programs such as the Seongnam Sujin District 1 redevelopment and the Cheonho A1-1 District public redevelopment. The builder is also leading national infrastructure work on the Gadeokdo New Airport site development and the Hongcheon Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plant.

A Daewoo E&C representative said the award validates the company's engineering credentials and its relationship with the housing agency. "This contract award is a recognition of Daewoo E&C's outstanding civil engineering capabilities and our collaborative ability with LH," the representative said. "We will concentrate our company-wide capabilities on safety and quality management to ensure the Yongin Semiconductor National Industrial Complex is developed without any setbacks, in close cooperation with LH and other relevant agencies."

The government intends to use the contract award as a turning point to accelerate development of the Yongin cluster, one of Korea's flagship responses to global competition for advanced chip manufacturing capacity. For Samsung, the timing of the infrastructure buildout matters: the Yongin site is central to the company's long-term fab expansion plans, and the pace at which roads, utilities and site preparation are completed will shape when fab construction can realistically follow.

For Daewoo E&C, the project deepens its position in the public construction market at a scale few domestic contractors can match. The company plans to leverage the award to consolidate its standing in national projects while supplying the groundwork for an industry Seoul classifies as strategically essential.

With shovels expected in the ground before year-end, the project now moves from procurement to execution — and the speed of that execution will help determine how quickly the Yongin cluster transitions from a national industrial complex on paper to operational fab-ready land.