S Korean builder upbeat on US$20b Saudi housing deal

Seoul

A SOUTH Korean construction firm that jointly won a US$20 billion housing deal with Saudi Arabia said on Monday it was confident the project would go ahead despite the impact of slumping oil prices on the Gulf nation's coffers.

Under the deal, for which a memorandum of understanding was signed in Seoul last week, a three-party consortium will build 100,000 housing units and related infrastructure for a new town near the capital Riyadh over the next 10 years.