Contracts for construction work stood at 72.0 trillion won (53.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the October-December quarter of 2023, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
It marked the first rebound in five quarters on the back of the low-base effect, caused by the construction contracts in the fourth quarter of 2022 that tumbled 18.4 percent on a yearly basis.
Public construction contracts, ordered by the central and local governments as well as public institutions, advanced 30.5 percent over the year to 22.3 trillion won (16.5 billion dollars) in the fourth quarter of last year.
Private construction contracts added 0.1 percent to 49.6 trillion won (36.7 billion dollars).
By type, civil engineering contracts jumped 28.1 percent to 22.9 trillion won (16.9 billion dollars) on strong demand for industrial facilities, while construction contracts rose 0.5 percent to 49.1 trillion won (36.3 billion dollars).
For the whole year of 2023, the construction contracts dipped 18.9 percent to 240.6 trillion won (178.1 billion dollars) compared to the previous year amid the housing market slump.
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