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November 09, 2009 15:42 PM

South Korea's Dajoo Looks At Malaysian Market

From Samantha Tan

SEOUL, Nov 9 (Bernama) -- South Korea's Dajoo Construction Co Ltd is looking to expand its construction expertise in radial collector wells in new markets like Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

Its president Byung Chul Yoon said there are vast opportunities in these developing markets as supplying drinking water to their growing population is becoming more difficult due to depleting natural water reserves.

With the demand for water in Malaysia expected to grow significantly by 2010 to about 17,000 million litres per day when the population reaches 30 million, groundwater harvesting using the radial collector wells system may provide the answer for a new water source.

Currently, surface water accounts for more than 98 per cent of water consumed in Malaysia which is a level of dependence that needs to dilute, especially since surface water is easily affected by extreme weather conditions.

According to Yoon, the company is hoping that Malaysia will be the first market for Dajoo to venture out from South Korea and also be the hub for the company to secure more jobs in radial collector wells from other Asian markets.

"We have handed a proposal on the project to Sime Darby and hope in the near future to go into the Malaysian market, then Indonesia as there are many opportunities as well as China," he told Bernama during a familiarisation tour of groundwater technology in South Korea.

Organised by Sime Darby, the tour was aimed at educating the public on the development of alluvial aquifers using radial collector wells, the use of radial collector wells in river restoration works, and the use of rainwater for domestic water supply.

Yoon said Malaysia would also be the platform for Dajoo to get jobs from the Middle East market due to the country's strategic location and commitment in promoting the halal industry.

To meet future needs, Sime Darby Bhd is undertaking a groundwater project in Batang Padang, Perak, which able to supply 500 million litres per day to Selangor by January 2013.

Sime Darby is currently in the first phase of development which will see the production of 50 million litres per day by year-end, increasing to 500 million per day by end of 2010.

Established in 1986, Dajoo has over 23 years of experience in the design and construction of radial collector wells. In South Korea, there are about 300 radial collector wells, of which 200 were constructed by Dajoo.

Yoon said he had been to Malaysia eight times and during his recent visit to Perak and Sabah, he found that the rivers were muddy and identified some of the best locations to build radial collector wells.

He said the company had sent some reports on his research on the well locations to Sime Darby, adding that radial collector wells could be the answer to polluted water.

On Dajoo's business performance during the global economic crisis, Yoon said there has been little impact with water being a mandatory need, adding that the company recorded 10 billion won (one won=RM0.0029) in revenue last year.

As the dominant player in the radial collector wells segment, Yoon said the demand for radial collector wells was growing in South Korea, adding that there would be more business as the city of Changwon was planning to change its vertical wells into radial collector wells.

The city currently has 50 vertical collector wells and six radial collector wells, with another five wells under construction.

Changwon, the capital of South Gyeongsang province, is about 40 kilometres west of Busan on the Namhae Expressway.

Groundwater is considered a clean and safe source of water supply, but in some geologic environments, the aquifer thickness may not be sufficient to supply the required volume of water to vertical wells, even though the aquifer is hydraulically connected to a nearby surface water body.

Under such conditions, radial collector wells can help in fetching superior quality water, Yoon said.

A radial collector well system comprises a series of horizontal wells discharging water into a central large diameter well, known as caisson, which is about four metres in diameter and 25 to 40 metres deep.

Depending on the numbers of pumps, each well can harvest between 20,000 and 40,000 cubic metres of water per day.

-- BERNAMA

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