DL E&C Co., Ltd. wins gold for GTX-A at international tunneling awards; deep-underground expertise recognized

[Financial News] The Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Line A (GTX-A) project, in which DL E&C Co., Ltd. participated as the lead construction contractor, won gold in the Large Project category at the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA) Awards. The award recognized, among other things, the company’s engineering capabilities and safety in building a large tunnel station 60 meters below Seoul Station.
DL E&C Co., Ltd. said on the 12th that GTX-A had won gold in the “Large Project of the Year” category at the 2026 ITA Awards. The category judges projects worth €500 million or more, and this is the first time a project carried out in Korea has won its top award.
The main focus of the evaluation was construction of the underground tunnel station at Seoul Station. DL E&C Co., Ltd. built concourses, platforms and transfer passages underground at Seoul Station, where high-rise buildings, cultural properties and existing transport facilities such as buses and railways are concentrated. The underground space covers 5,300 square meters and is more than 20 meters high. At 31 meters wide, it is about three times the width of a typical tunnel, which is 10 meters.
The Unjeong–Samseong section of the GTX-A private investment project was built about 50 to 60 meters underground to minimize interference with existing structures. Large-cross-section tunnel structures were used at five major stations, including Seoul Station and Yeonsinnae station.
Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were used on sections beneath downtown Seoul and the Han River to reduce noise and vibration. DL E&C Co., Ltd. oversaw six construction sections and systems work along the route from Paju to the Gangnam area of Seoul. The company said it managed the schedule and safety while responding to changes in site operations caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the 52-hour workweek system, among other factors.
Travel time between Unjeong Jungang and Seoul Station fell to about 22 minutes, roughly one-third of what it had been. Cumulative ridership on the section exceeded 12 million as of September this year, with about 55,000 people using it on weekdays.
DL E&C Co., Ltd. has developed AI-based optimal route search, its own Building Information Modeling (BIM) tunnel design package, and GIS-linked automated blasting design technology, and is applying these technologies to the design of the Namhae–Yeosu undersea tunnel.
Drawing on construction and project management experience gained on GTX-A, DL E&C Co., Ltd. is also preparing for the Chungcheong Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit (CTX) project. CTX, which will connect Daejeon, Sejong and North Chungcheong Province, has passed the Korea Development Institute’s (KDI) assessment of its suitability for private investment.
A DL E&C Co., Ltd. official said, “Building on the world-class deep-underground rail technology and project management capabilities demonstrated through GTX-A, as well as our AI- and BIM-based design technology, we plan to secure a competitive edge in the future metropolitan transport infrastructure market.”
[email protected] Choi Ga-young Reporter