South Korea's Hyundai Engineering and Construction said Monday it has won reconstruction orders worth 220 million dollars to build power distribution and transmission facilities in Iraq.
It was part of a 1.1 billion dollar order won by US contractor Washington Group International, Hyundai Engineering said in a statement, adding it hopes to win additional reconstruction orders.
In 2001, South Korean banks bailed out Hyundai Engineering, which was saddled with heavy debts, mainly due to 1.1 billion dollars worth of uncollected construction bills from Iraq.
"With the reconstruction deal, prospects for South Korean construction firms operating in Iraq have become brighter than before," said Kim Ho-Yung, senior executive vice president of Hyundai Engineering.
"We also hope there will be progress in negotiations aimed at securing uncollected bills from Iraq."
Hyundai Engineering, a leading civil engineering firm in South Korea, was hit hard by the Asian financial crisis in 1997.
The company has since made desperate efforts to collect unpaid Iaqi debts dating back to 1991, when the United Nations imposed sanctions to freeze Iraq-related credit and debts after the Gulf War.