Daewoo Engineering & Construction Chairman Jung Won-ju visited Turkmenistan this week to meet with government officials and business partners to explore new opportunities in the country’s burgeoning infrastructure development market.

Jung was visiting the country as part of a business delegation accompanying President Yoon Suk Yeol on his state visit for a summit with Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhamedov in Ashgabat, the Turkmenistan capital.

During the visit, the Daewoo chief inspected the bidding process of the two fertilizer plants and sought support from local officials.

"The atmosphere for cooperation between our countries is more favorable than ever following the bilateral summit," Jung was quoted as saying during the meeting with local officials on Tuesday. "Daewoo E&C is committed to mutual growth and development in the global markets we enter. We seek your (Turkmenistan's) support and cooperation as we strive to produce Central Asia's first blue ammonia production region through the fertilizer plant currently under bidding."

He also attended a business roundtable meeting held on the sidelines of the summit talks, during which he met with ranking officials including Batyr Amanov, deputy prime minister of Turkmenistan, Maksat Babayev, head of the Turkmengas State Corp., Guvanch Agajanov, chairman of the State Concern Turkmennebit, and Dovrangeldi Sapbayev, chairman of State Concern Turkmenhimiya.

The two fertilizer plants Daewoo E&C is bidding for are the Kiyanli urea-ammonia fertilizer plant, located in Turkmenbashi of Balkan province near the Caspian Sea, and the Turkmenabat fertilizer plant, located 500 kilometers east of Ashgabat. The Kiyanli plant can produce 1.55 million tons of urea and 660,000 tons of ammonia annually.

Additionally, Daewoo E&C is bidding for the second phase of the Arkadag smart city project, which involves the construction of a new city in southern Turkmenistan named in honor of the "national leader," ex-President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov. The project aims to build a smart city for some 64,000 residents in areas 30 kilometers southwest of Ashgabat.

Daewoo E&C opened a local branch in Ashgabat last November to speed up efforts to land the pending projects and ensure smooth operations.

"Turkmenistan, rich in resources, has great potential for business in various sectors such as new city development and infrastructure," a Daewoo E&C official said. "We aim to establish a stronger foothold in the Central Asian market and enhance national prestige as a leading construction company from Korea, fostering the amicable relationship formed after the state visit."