Ssangyong wins another big contract

By Kim Tae-gyu

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction (E&C), one of the country’s top contractors, won another large contract to build luxury apartments in the central areas of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

The Seoul-based builder said Thursday that the serviced apartments worth $127 million will be completed in the summer of 2014. World famous architect Jean Nouvel has already produced the designs.

``We received the conditional letter of award for the building, which is tantamount to an actual contract. A 43-story apartment and a 49-story structure will be built along a bustling street of Kuala Lumpur next to the Petronas Twin Towers,’’ a Ssangyong official said.

``Noteworthy is that the apartments were designed by world-renowned Jean Nourvel who has came up with so many innovative and elegant masterpieces across the world, including Korea.’’

Nouvel is a French architect who received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2008, which is seen as the equivalent of a Nobel prize for architecture. He is often referred to as one of the world’s top five architects.

Included in his works are the Agbar Tower in Barcelona, the expansion of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. He also contributed to designing the Samsung Museum of Art Leeum.

``The buildings would be new landmarks of Kuala Lumpur together with the Petronas Twin Tower,’’ the official said. ``After the completion of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, our technological knowhow gained global awareness. We plan to extend our horizons not only to Southeast Asian countries but to the Middle East, Africa and Russia.’’

The Marina Sands Bay Hotel is a 55-story luxury hotel with 2,511 rooms located in Singapore. Opened in mid-2010, it is highly touted thanks to its unique design and features.

The hotel, was contracted by U.S.-based hotel and casino giant Sands Group, stands at a 52-degree angle. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy, is at an angle of 5.5 degrees.

The hotel, designed by architect Moshe Safdie, is composed of three buildings. On top of them, there is a sky park equipped with three swimming pools, an observation deck, a spa, restaurants and gardens.

Ssangyong’s track record in the international markets is closely associated with Malaysia. It began expanding into the global market after winning an order in the country back in 1982 following the construction of the Raffles City in Singapore in the 1970s.

Since then Ssangyong has constructed landmark buildings across the world, including the Marina Sands Bay Hotel, with which the constructor silenced critics who claimed that the high-tech buildings were impossible to realize.