Raising the skyline in Kuala Lumpur: Daewoo’s Ilham Baru Tower
Daewoo E&C is committed to being one of the world’s most reliable leading engineering and construction companies. By realizing the high value of world-leading technologies and highly-skilled human resources, Daewoo is able to deliver any project, in any place, beyond the clients’ expectation, in a safe and timely manner.
The company was founded in the 1970s to do road construction in Ecuador. Since then, Daewoo has completed an impressive 300 projects in over 40 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Currently they operate branches and subsidiaries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the US and other parts of the word.
Currently, work on the Ilham Baru Tower is one of the company’s leading projects. Their commitment to the region, their clients and employees led to the work on the tower, which will be completed in the second half of this year.
Ilham Baru Tower
The Ilham Baru Tower (referred to as the IB Tower) is located in Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital and most populous city in Malaysia. Foster + Partners is the acting architect, responsible for the concept and design of the project. Construction began at the end of February 2012, and is expected to go through the end of October 2014. The 32-month construction period is funded by contracts worth around $580m.
The IB Tower has several purposes: level 7 through 35 will be gallery and office space, level 37 through 40 will house community facilities, levels 41 through 53 will be apartments, and level 54 through 58 will be dedicated to penthouse living spaces. There will be parking for around 900 vehicles at the site.
The hanging steel structure is made of reinforced concrete, and will be 274 metres tall when completed. The basement of the building is four floors, and the remaining 58 floors are above ground.
Mr. Kim Hyong Man, construction manager, oversees about 1,300 workers on the site currently. During the peak of building there were approximately 1,500 workers on site. Mr. Lee Ki Soon, project manager, keeps tabs on the project from the company’s headquarters.
Positive impacts
Each of Daewoo’s projects endeavours to impact the surrounding community and environment in a positive way. To do so, the company is working towards developing eco-friendly products, recycling and entering into the new and renewable energy business.
They have build an inventory stem that enables the company to measure, manage and reduce greenhouse gas emission levels both at home and abroad. They also carry out energy saving campaigns to reduce energy use.
Their eco-friendly technologies include construction materials like low-carbon concrete and marine concrete; their Eliminate CO2 mortar does not use cement at all. Currently, Daewoo is developing a number of promising water and sewage treatment technologies. The company is also a leader in waste disposal technologies, including their High-Concentration Organic Waste Recycling Technology, which produces biogas using organic wastes. Building Integrated Wind Power (BiWP), another innovative technology, produces its own energy in buildings, as well as photovoltaic power generation modules for apartments.
Worker management
By fostering the development of high-calibre industry experts and specialists, Daewoo has created a talented employee base. The company hires people who can think both critically and creatively, and who showcases their core values of challenge, passion, responsibility and accountability. Employees at Daewoo are firm believers in the value of change and innovation. Many of the company’s employees come from open recruitment sources, internship programs, experience-based hiring and global networking.
The company offers several educational and training programs to assist employees in the advancement of their career development. These programs include new employee training, overseas study courses and domestic and overseas degree programs. Daewoo also provides opportunities for self-development.
Because they are a company headquartered in Korea, Daewoo has made a concerted effort to support the development of their non-Korean workers. They offer counselling, Korean language training and Korean cultural events to assimilate non-Korean employees in the company and country.
