Daelim Industrial Co., Korea’s fifth-largest builder, said Tuesday it recently won a $2 billion contract to upgrade a crude refining plant in the Philippines.

Under the deal with Petron Corp., the Southeast Asian country’s largest refiner, Daelim will be in charge of engineering, procurement and construction of the factory in Limay, 150 kilometers southwest of Manila, by early 2014.

When completed, the facility will be able to churn out more profitable petrol products by converting heavy distillates like bunker C and asphalt into cleaner and more commonly used fuels such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel.

“The deal resulted from our successful execution of previous projects in Philippines and Saudi Arabia,” said Kim Yoon, chief of the company’s plant business unit.

“Based on our presence in the EPC field, we are planning to branch out into other high value-added sectors such as operation and maintenance.”

EPC is a widely used form of construction order, under which the contractor designs the facility, brings in the raw materials and builds it. The method is increasingly favored by firms across the industry because it boosts productivity and consistency in services while guaranteeing a lucrative lump-sum payment for builders.

The order is one of the largest projects carried out by a Korean construction company in Southeast Asia in terms of value, Daelim noted. It also won a 345.3 billion won ($303.3 million) deal in April to set up a petrochemical plant in the city for Petron.

The region has in recent years emerged as a boon to Korean builders, which have long had a thirst for a fresh growth driver amid a protracted slump in the domestic property market.

Between January and August this year, Korean builders won a total of 130 orders worth $6.18 billion, up 25 percent from a year ago, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea.

Philippines, however, remains a relatively nascent market. Daelim is among few firms that have managed to operate there, working on a handful of other projects largely for refining and chemicals facilities.

This year, the Seoul-based company has secured six orders from the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and China with a combined value of more than 6 trillion won.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)