Builder selected for Jeju ‘Dream Tower’

An artist’s impression of the 38-story Dream Tower that is expected to be completed in Jeju in 2019. [NEWSIS]

Lotte Tour and Chinese real estate company Greenland Group are planning to build a 700 billion won ($605.1 million) multi-complex resort in Jeju Island.

The tourism company said on Tuesday that they have chosen China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) as the main builder of the high-rise project.

CSCEC is expected to start work next month and the 38-story project is slated to be completed by March 2019.

The “Dream Tower” will be the tallest building on Jeju Island and will be constructed on 302,777-square meters (3,259,064.5 square feet) of land, according to Lotte Tour.

The building is designed to have a total 1,626 hotel rooms, a casino for foreigners and shopping malls. The casino will have 200 gaming tables and 400 slot machines.

“We will let as many companies as possible in Jeju Island take advantage of moving in to the building,” said Hwang Min-gang, CEO of the Greenland Group’s Korea Corporation.

“We expect the project will help revitalize the local economy.”

Lotte Tour chief executive Kim Ki-byung also said the project will create quality jobs in the region. “We expect to create some 2,200 new jobs, and will make it the place that offers highest wages in Jeju Island,” Kim said.

Greenland said that it took them a long time to find a suitable builder for the project since they wanted it to take full responsibility for construction.

This is the first time a construction firm has taken full responsibility for a project in Korea.

When completed, Lotte Tour will manage the casino and hotel, while Greenland Group will take care of the hotel.

CSCEC is one of the largest construction firms in the world and the company’s yearly sales were around 141 trillion won as of 2014.

The company participated in some 5,600 projects in 116 countries around the world and has built recognized buildings worldwide such as Shanghai World Finance Center and Hong Kong ICC Tower.

CSCEC is currently constructing China’s second tallest building called Greenland Center, in Wuhan, China.

BY KIM YOUNG-NAM [kim.youngnam@joongang.co.kr]