Hyundai E&C shines in hospital construction
Hyundai E&C shines in hospital construction
Successful construction of Hamad Medical City in Qatar further enhanced the status of Hyundai E&C in the industry.
/ Courtesy of Hyundai E&C
By Yoon Ja-young
Since 1965 when it advanced into the overseas construction market, Hyundai Engineering and Construction (E&C) has led the construction of around 800 projects in 60 countries around the world. It has been opening up doors to new segments in the market, applying the most advanced technologies to lead development of the construction industry.
In Qatar, for instance, which is seeing major infrastructure projects going on ahead of the 2022 World Cup, Hyundai E&C is leading huge projects such as building an expressway in Lusai and the construction of the national museum and a new port.
Among them is Hamad Medical City, a project to build the most advanced hospital that will bring innovative changes to Qatar's healthcare services.
Hyundai E&C won the order in 2011, where it would be in charge of engineering, procurement and construction. The $900 million project includes expanding and remodeling the athletes' village and press center of the 2006 Doha Asian Games into a hospital.
Hospital construction requires a high-level of design, construction and engineering as it has to reflect diverse demands in the beginning. Hyundai E&C explained that it could win the order by suggesting the "Dry Wall" method which enables it to shorten the construction period by about three months. It also suggested a new design of wards for females, which satisfied the organization making the order. It requested that Hyundai E&C take the whole interior design work of other wards as well. It applied interior design and materials used for the world's top hotels, on top of installing the most advanced medical equipment.
The three hospital buildings that Hyundai E&C is in charge of constructing contain 178,000 square meters in total floor area, surpassing Samsung Medical Center, the biggest hospital in Korea with 148,000 square meters.
The huge construction site, where the daily number of workers once surpassed 4,000, has temperatures over 50 degree Celsius heat during the summer. The sandstorms and high humidity are also obstacles for construction. Hyundai E&C, however, gave safety education to workers from diverse nations such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal and the Philippines every day, on top of conducting inspections. Thanks to such efforts, the construction site has not had any accidents for 45 million hours.
After 63 months of work, Hyundai E&C held the Key Handover Ceremony on May 30. The workers were conferred plaques of appreciation for successful completion of the project on time.
"We are proud to contribute to the development of healthcare service and social infrastructure in Qatar. The successful completion of Hamad Medical City enhances the status of Hyundai E&C here," a Hyundai E&C spokesperson said.
He expected that it will help Hyundai E&C win further projects for 2022 Qatar World Cup.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2016/10/488_216771.html
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