Cost Structure of Chemical Plants in Korea- Dae-Woo Engineering Co.

한국에서의 화학공장 건설비 구조 분석

This analysis has been conducted for 8 chemical plants built in Korea during 1975-1976 and the results have been compared with those in U.S.A. observed by Kenneth M. Guthrie. Equipment and materials supplied by domestic makers are limited in activity field and occupy only 12% of all equipment and material cost. However, unit costs of most materials supplied by home such as cement, steel, cables and carbon steel pipes, etc. being relatively cheaper than those of abroad, their effects on material-to-equipment ratios are apparent. There is a deep difference in labor wage rates between Korea and U.S.A. as much as 16 times. However, the labor productivity observed in these model projects is in the range of 1.1-1.4 to the Gulf Coast, U.S.A. during the same period. And this low wage rate and relatively high productivity have the greatest influence on deviation of Korean cost structure from that of U.S.A. In these model projects, engineering and construction management was conducted by foreign contractors (mostly U.S.A.), and the resulting project indirect cost amounts to 7.5 times as high as most cases executed by Korean contractors alone. Weighted percentage of each component and L/M-ratio by activities of direct field cost derived from this analysis are shown in detail in Tables 2 and 5 to provide a basis for futher study and comparison.