Value of construction contracts dips 18.4 pct in Q4

construction deals-Q4 tally

Value of construction contracts dips 18.4 pct in Q4

SEOUL, March 27 (Yonhap) -- The value of construction contracts in South Korea tumbled nearly 19 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 amid a slumping housing market, government data showed Monday.

Civilian and public work contracts in Asia's fourth-largest economy were valued at 66.7 trillion won (US$51.2 billion) in the October-December period, down 18.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

It marked the biggest on-year drop for any quarter since 2014, when data tracking began.

It was also a turnaround from three previous quarters, when the value of construction contracts rose 10.4 percent, 8.8 percent and 14 percent, respectively.

In the last quarter, private deals plunged 22.5 percent on-year to 49.6 trillion won, and public-sector contracts fell 3.2 percent to 17.1 trillion won.

The value of contracts clinched by the top 50 industry players nose-dived 26 percent on-year to 24.3 trillion won.

Construction contracts in the capital Seoul and its adjacent Gyeonggi Province shrank 19.6 percent, and those in the remainder of the country slumped 17.3 percent.

For all of 2022, the value of civilian and public construction contracts expanded 2.7 percent from a year earlier to 296.8 trillion won.

Private deals climbed 3.7 percent on-year to 235.3 trillion won, but public-sector contracts dropped 0.9 percent to 61.5 trillion won, according to the data.

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