Americans tend to think that the US is the world leader in modular home construction and for a lot of years, it was. Today, however, modular construction has shown up in every country in the world.
While many new modular factories are usually founded as startup companies for direct sales to builders and developers, Samsung C&T is filling a government need for housing.
Samsung C&T will promote a large-scale modular (prefabricated) house construction project in Neom City or Riyadh in Saudi Arabia through joint investment with the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.
Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with PIF Governor Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 24 (local time) for modular housing cooperation between Samsung C&T and the PIF.
The MOU fleshed out a modular housing cooperation MOU signed between Korea and Saudi Arabia at the Korea-Saudi Arabia Investment Forum held in Seoul in November 2022. The forum was attended by President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Samsung C&T will build modular houses and operate modular housing manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia, laying the foundation for a full-fledged entry into mega-scale projects in the Middle East, including the Neom City project in Saudi Arabia.
In building modular houses, more than 70 percent of the building materials, including those for structures, are prefabricated at factories. Only installation and interior/exterior finishing are carried out on-site.
Gary Fleisher is the Editor in Chief of Modular Home Source and Offsite Builder magazine. Email at [email protected]
Gary Fleisher, the Modcoach
To learn more about the Offsite Construction Industry, sign up for your free monthly issue of Offsite Builder, the Construction Magazine for Builders and Developers
