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“Cultivating Technology-Intensive Industries…” DL E&C Awarded with the “Indonesian Hydro-Power” CM Project
DATE 2025.03.17
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“Cultivating Technology-Intensive Industries…”
DL E&C Awarded with the "Indonesian Hydro-Power" CM Project
General Manager Minho Kim, KOMIKO (from left); Gwangil Kim, Head of the Technical Safety Division; Byeongdu Moon,
Head of the Civil Engineering Project Division, DL E&C; and Changseok Lee, Civil Engineering Sales Representative,
taking a ceremonial photo after signing the contract for the Siborpa hydro-power plant project in Indonesia on the 14th.
DL E&C Awarded with the "Indonesian Hydro-Power" CM Project
General Manager Minho Kim, KOMIKO (from left); Gwangil Kim, Head of the Technical Safety Division; Byeongdu Moon, Head of the Civil Engineering Project Division, DL E&C; and Changseok Lee, Civil Engineering Sales Representative,
taking a ceremonial photo after signing the contract for the Siborpa hydro-power plant project in Indonesia on the 14th.
- Overall management of the engineering and construction of the ‘Private-Public Cooperation Project’ … throwing away the previous model of mere subcontracting
- Welcomed by the client due to the ‘alternative design’ … with the largest project references in hydro-power plants and dams in South Korea.
With its superb technological prowess in the hydro-power sector, DL E&C is to participate in a hydro-power plant project in Indonesia. Unlike previous projects where the company participated as a mere sub-contractor, the company now expanded its business domain to construction management (CM), which is an area that was mainly monopolized by developed countries such as the USA or Europe, while the company exerts its unique strength in its effort to be awarded with the project contract.
On the 17th, DL E&C announced that it signed a contract worth 15 million dollars (about 22 billion won) with an SPC named PT. Siborpa Eco Power, where KOMIPO participates as the majority shareholder, on the 14th. Pt. Siborpa Eco Power is an incorporation that has been established to execute the Siborpa Hydro-Power Plant project for Indonesia. This hydro-power plant will be built with a 114 megawatt (MW) capacity on the Bilah River located in the north-east of Sumatra, Indonesia. Once the project is completed, the new power plant can generate the power to serve more than 1 million people in the region a year.
DL E&C will be participating as the CM, responsible for the overall management of engineering and construction on behalf of the client, until August 2030. The CM is a technology-intensive field of service that demands project experience and a high-level of understanding of the process. This can help the client saving a good deal of time and cost. For these reasons, large overseas projects hire CMs.
DL E&C’s success is based on its differentiation in planning and technology, allowing the clients to completely entrust the project. Unlike projects in the past where the company participated as a mere sub-contractor, DL E&C impressed the client by proposing a new CM business model for itself. While South Korean contractors are under pressure due to the low prices of Chinese competitors in overseas project markets, this project is a declaration of DL E&C that it will focus on the areas of services that are technology-intensive rather than being dragged into price competition. This project, in which a public agency made a proposal and won the contract while South Korean businesses participate in engineering and construction management, is expected to an important success case of the mutual win-win scenarios between the public and private sectors.
What made DL E&C stood out during the tender process in 2022 was its ability of ‘alternative engineering.’ It was only DL E&C that proposed an alternative design among all contending bidders during the tender process. Hydro-power plants generate power using the potential energy of the water falling using water channels of a dam. The client’s initial plan for the water channel was to build an underground tunnel stretching over 4.5km. Located on the circum-Pacific belt, the excavation itself involved a higher level of risk due to the instability of the ground on the island of Sumatra. DL E&C proposed an alternative plan as an active solution for the efficiency in the construction work, construction time, and cost, by replacing the tunnel with an open water channel (on the surface). And the result was a spectacular success. The client welcomed the proposal, which led to the awarding of this CM project.
Since DL E&C began its hydro-power business in the 1990s, the company built the largest reference basis in South Korea, with a good track record in Indonesia, as well. The awarding of this project was also possible due to the past experience and successful references of the past. By the end of this month, the company is set to complete the construction of the Karian Dam, which is the third-largest dam in the country. The company also started the construction of the first pumped-storage hydro-power plant called the ‘Upper Chisokan Hydro-Power’ in 2022.
The government of Indonesia announced its plans to build new hydro-power plants with a total capacity of 10.4 GW by the year 2030 in order to boost its power generation capabilities. Indonesia is a country that is blessed with rich water resources. Also, as the country is composed of thousands of islands, the best way to resolve the chronic power shortage issue is to generate power within these islands. This makes the country a perfect ground for a hydro-power project.
Mr. Byeongdu Moon, the Head of the Civil Engineering Project Division of DL E&C, said, “Until now, we have been focusing on hydro-power projects in the Middle East and SE Asia. And the technological prowess that we built over the years during these projects helped us the successful awarding of this project.” He also emphasized, “This is a significant success since we entered the project-management type CM service market, which has been monopolized by companies from developed countries, such as the United States and Europe.”
