Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
SK E&C named preferred bidder for W1.5 tril. UK tunnel project
An artist's impression of SK E&C's Silvertown Tunnel project. / Courtesy of SK E&C
By Nam Hyun-woo
By Nam Hyun-woo
SK E&C has been named preferred bidder for a 1.5 trillion won ($1.27 billion) project to build a tunnel crossing the River Thames ― the first time a Korean builder has won a public-private partnership project in Western Europe, the firm said Sunday.
According to SK E&C, a consortium comprised of SK E&C and four other multinational investment firms was named preferred bidder for the construction of the Silvertown Tunnel for Transport for London (TfL).
The consortium, named RiverLinx, is comprised of Australia's Macquarie Capital, Spain's Cintra, U.K.'s Aberdeen Standard Investments and Netherlands' BAM PPP PGGM. SK E&C holds a 10 percent stake in RiverLinx.
The 1.4 kilometer twin tunnel will link the Silvertown and Greenwich regions in the English capital.
The company said the actual agreement and financial deals would be signed in the second half of the year. The tunnel is scheduled to open in 2025 and RiverLynx will operate it for the next 25 years.
SK E&C will set up a separate construction consortium with Ferrovial Agroman of Spain and BAM Nuttall of the U.K. for the engineering, procurement and construction. SK E&C will hold a 20 percent stake in the construction consortium.
“We are delighted that SK E&C can enter into the advanced and highly competitive European market,” SK E&C CEO Ahn Jae-hyun said in a statement. “Through the project we will show our experience and strength in tunnel, road and underground construction and we will continue forging strategic partnerships with international builders and investment companies.”