LS Cable gets first contract in Venezuela

LS Cable & System has won a contract from the state power corporation of Venezuela to install 230 kilovolt extra-high-voltage submarine cables, becoming the first Korean company to make inroads into the South American cable market, the company said yesterday.

The extra-high-voltage submarine cables will stretch 40 kilometers (25 miles) between Chacopata in the mainland state of Sucre and Margarita island. The cables will be used to supply electricity to the island.

According to the company, the deal is worth 300 billion won ($273 million) and LS expects to raise 200 billion won in revenue.

LS Cable & System, Korea’s largest cable maker, secured the contract on a full turnkey basis, meaning it will be in charge of delivery of cables, installation and testing. The company said there’s ample possibility for demand for power cables, including submarine cables, to increase in South America given the region’s growing demand for electricity and aging power grid. If LS successfully completes the Venezuelan project, it would pave the way for additional orders for submarine cables from other countries, it said.

“We won orders in South America as well as in Europe and the Middle East. It proves that LS Cable & System has firmly established itself as a world-class submarine cable maker both in name and reality,” said Yoon Jae-in, director in charge of the sales division. “We will concentrate our energies on making inroads into new markets by capitalizing on our high-value-added products like submarine and extra-high-voltage cables.”

LS obtained an order for a 500 billion won project from Qatar last year.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]