Korea’s local construction market to contract this year
Korea's domestic construction market is expected to contract by 14.2% this year compared to last year due to the protracted business slump. The Korea Federation of Construction Contractors (KFCC) stated that the construction market will gain Won 87.9 trillion ($78.8 billion) this year, down by 14.2% compared to Won 102.4 trillion recorded last year. Private construction activities, including reconstruction and redevelopment of housings, have shown contraction on the back of the government's anti-speculation measures. Private construction market will reduce by 21.7% from a year earlier this year while construction projects implemented by public organizations is expected to increase by 2.2% to Won 32.9 trillion. At the same time, KFFC forecasts that the construction business will be in a recession period next year as the market will go down by 1.4% to Won 86.7 trillion in 2005, despite Won 10 trillion worth of new projects which the government plans to implement next year.