Ssangyong E&C wins 806.5 billion won Southern Inland Railway section 9
Version 2: New reports add that the contract was awarded on 29 September and fill in the consortium shareholding, the 60-month construction period and the builder’s wider order performance.
In short
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction said it won the section 9 contract of the Southern Inland Railway, ordered by the Korea National Railway, with total construction costs of 806.5 billion won. The 24.6 km section runs between Goseong-eup in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and Sadeung-myeon in Geoje, and includes a 2.9 km undersea shield TBM tunnel the company calls the first of its kind for a railway in Korea. It is the third of the railway’s 14 sections the builder has won this year, after two awards in January.
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Ssangyong Engineering & Construction said it won the section 9 contract of the Southern Inland Railway, ordered by the Korea National Railway, with total construction costs of 806.5 billion won. The section covers 24.6 km between Goseong-eup in Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and Sadeung-myeon in Geoje. According to Yonhap, Seoul Economic Daily and Dong-A Ilbo, Ssangyong’s share is 45%, or about 362.9 billion won, with KCC Construction holding 15% and eight other builders 5% each. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Dong-A Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily and Chosun Ilbo said the award was made on 29 September, while Maeil Business, Yonhap and Newsis carried the announcement on 6 October and Chosun Ilbo again on 7 October. The company said the construction period is 60 months from the start of work, according to Maeil Business, Dong-A Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
The company said the entire 24.6 km section consists of tunnels, and that 2.9 km of it will be built as an undersea shield TBM (tunnel boring machine) tunnel — described in the reports as the first use of the method for a railway in Korea — boring through soft seabed ground with ground reinforcement. Maeil Business said the remaining segments are also tunnel. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
The award is Ssangyong’s third package on the same line this year. The reports said the company won sections 5-2 (232.2 billion won) and 8-2 (211 billion won) in January, giving it three of the railway’s 14 sections. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
A Ssangyong official said the award recognised the construction experience and technical capability the company had built up on large railway and tunnel projects, and that it would carry out this project on the basis of its work using an 11-metre-diameter large-bore TBM on section 5 of the Pyeongtaek–Osong double-track project. Yonhap quoted the official saying that because the project includes Korea’s first railway undersea shield TBM tunnel, the company plans to complete it using its large-diameter TBM experience and technology. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
Seoul Economic Daily added that Ssangyong joined Global Sae-A Group at the end of 2022 and has been expanding orders in civil engineering after overseas and domestic housing work. Citing the company, it said this year’s domestic civil engineering orders, including the three Southern Inland Railway sections and the Donghae New Port coal wharf construction, are up 30% from last year. [ 5 ]
One business outlet, Newsis, is available only through its headline, which reports the roughly 800 billion won Goseong–Geoje section 9 contract; the article text carried with it concerns an unrelated subject. [ 2 ]
Why it matters
The award adds a third package on the same railway line to Ssangyong’s order book and puts a company with large-diameter TBM experience on what the reports describe as the country’s first undersea rail tunnel bore. For the corridor between Goseong and Geoje, the contract moves a 24.6 km all-tunnel section — including a technically demanding subsea stretch — toward construction on a 60-month schedule. The documents give no cost, schedule or environmental assessment beyond the contract terms themselves.
Key facts
- Ssangyong Engineering & Construction won section 9 of the Southern Inland Railway, ordered by the Korea National Railway, with total construction costs of 806.5 billion won. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The section covers 24.6 km between Goseong-eup, Goseong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and Sadeung-myeon, Geoje. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Ssangyong’s share is 45%, or 362.9 billion won; KCC Construction holds 15% and eight other builders 5% each. [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- The construction period is 60 months from the start of work. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
- The whole 24.6 km section consists of tunnels, with 2.9 km designed as an undersea shield TBM tunnel described as Korea’s first for a railway. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]
- Ssangyong previously won sections 5-2 (232.2 billion won) and 8-2 (211 billion won) in January, giving it three of the railway’s 14 sections. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily and Chosun Ilbo said the contract was awarded on 29 September. [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Ssangyong Engineering & Construction won section 9 of the Southern Inland Railway, worth 806.5 billion won in total, under an order from the Korea National Railway. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The section is 24.6 km long and runs from Goseong-eup in Goseong County to Sadeung-myeon in Geoje. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Ssangyong holds a 45% share of the contract, and the works are to include a 2.9 km undersea shield TBM tunnel described as the first of its kind for a railway in Korea. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- With section 9, Ssangyong is responsible for three of the railway’s 14 sections, after winning sections 5-2 and 8-2 in January. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- The construction period is 60 months from the start of work. [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]
- The contract was awarded on 29 September, according to Dong-A Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily and Chosun Ilbo. [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Still unclear
- Which builders make up the eight companies that each hold 5%, besides KCC Construction at 15%. Dong-A Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily and Yonhap give the 15% and 5% split but name only KCC Construction; no other partner is listed in the documents.
- When construction will start. The documents give a 60-month construction period from the start of work but no start date.
- Details of the Newsis report. The article text carried with the Newsis document is about a different subject, so only its headline — that Ssangyong won the roughly 800 billion won Goseong–Geoje section 9 contract — could be used.
- Whether the 24.6 km route is entirely tunnel. Maeil Business, Dong-A Ilbo and Seoul Economic Daily say the whole section consists of tunnels, while Yonhap and Chosun Ilbo describe the award without that detail.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Ssangyong is selected as contractor for the Southern Inland Railway section 9, according to Dong-A Ilbo, Seoul Economic Daily and Chosun Ilbo. [ 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Maeil Business reports the section 9 award, describing the 24.6 km route and the 2.9 km undersea shield TBM design. [ 1 ]
- Newsis publishes a headline reporting the roughly 800 billion won Goseong–Geoje section 9 contract. [ 2 ]
- Yonhap reports the award at 806.5 billion won and adds the 45%/15% consortium split with KCC Construction and nine other builders. [ 3 ]
- Dong-A Ilbo reports the 29 September award, the 45%/15%/5% shareholding and the 60-month construction period. [ 4 ]
- Seoul Economic Daily reports the award and the company’s civil engineering order growth, including the Donghae New Port coal wharf contract. [ 5 ]
- Chosun Ilbo reports the final selection as contractor, dated 29 September, and the 24.6 km route. [ 7 ]