Overseas orders won by South Korean builders surged significantly in the first quarter from a year earlier, the construction ministry said Sunday, reflecting a possible recovery in the global construction market.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, overseas deals signed by South Korean construction companies totaled $12.5 billion in the January-March period, up 56 percent from the same period last year.

The ministry noted the figure fell a little short of the five-year average of $14.3 billion for the first quarter, but said its annual target of $70 billion will still be in reach, considering that most orders for major projects are usually placed around the end of the year.

In the first quarter, orders from Asian countries reached $7.33 billion, accounting for 58.4 percent of the total and replacing the Middle East as the world’s largest market for South Korean builders.

Orders from Middle Eastern countries in the January-March period inched up to $4.64 billion from $4.44 billion a year earlier.

“The ministry plans to send government support groups to Middle Eastern and Asian countries in the third quarter to help reach the annual target,” it said in a press release. (Yonhap News)