In Asian games Hanwha E&C cheered for Iraq

Hanwha Engineering and Construction, which is recently expanding its presence in the booming Iraqi construction market, showed its support for the Iraqi team and athletes during the Incheon Asian Games that ended last week.
On Oct. 2, some 100 Hanwha E&C officials gathered at the Incheon Football Stadium where the bronze medal match in men’s football was held between Iraq and Thailand.
Despite the rainy weather, they cheered enthusiastically for the Iraqi team. Iraq beat Thailand 1-0, clinching the bronze.
After the game, the Iraqi players also responded gladly to the Hanwha cheering squad, according to company officials.
Hanwha E&C president and CEO Lee Keun-po said, “The $8 billion new-town-building project is going smoothly. The excellent performance is getting respect from the Iraqi government.”
“We will ramp up efforts to become a Korean company that is beloved by Iraqi people as well.”
During the Asian Games in the port city of Incheon between Sept. 19 and Oct. 4, the Iraqi delegation won one gold and three bronze medals. It ranks 25th among the 45 participating countries.
Hanwha E&C, a construction unit of Hanwha Group, has been seeking to cement business cooperation with Iraq in recent years, hoping to lead the “second Middle East boom” as the Mideast country rebuilds after years of war.
In 2012, the Korean builder secured the $8 billion contract to build 100,000 homes in Bismayah, a satellite city of Baghdad, for completion in 2019.
The building project, including the establishment of water supply and sewage systems, was the first instance of exporting the nation’s new-town-building expertise. It was also Korea’s second-largest overseas construction deal.