Contracts for construction work amounted to 68.4 trillion won (52.5 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-March quarter, down 6.3 percent from the same quarter of last year, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The contract amount kept a downward trend after dropping 18.4 percent in the previous quarter as the real estate market remained in a slump due to higher interest rates and rising worry about economic downturn.
Public construction contracts, ordered by the central and local governments, reduced 3.8 percent from a year earlier to 19.4 trillion won (14.9 billion dollars) in the first quarter.
Private construction contracts declined 7.3 percent to 49 trillion won (37.6 billion dollars).
By type, civil engineering contracts jumped 20.3 percent to 28 trillion won (21.5 billion dollars) on solid demand for industrial facilities, but construction contracts retreated 18.8 percent to 40.4 trillion won (31 billion dollars) on weak demand for residential and non-residential properties.
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