The cumulative overseas construction orders of South Korean builders has exceeded $700 billion since they first ventured abroad in 1965, data showed Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Land and the International Construction Information Service, the amount of construction order commissions reported was $699.54 billion as of June 10. However, if Samsung C&T’s order of $694 million for the WestConnex construction in Sydney, Australia, on June 4 it included, the total reaches $700.23 billion.

South Korean firms began their overseas construction activities in 1965, when Hyundai Engineering and Construction received a commission of $5.2 million to construct a 98km highway connecting the Pattani and Narathiwat provinces in southern Thailand.

The region with the highest number of commissions for construction was the Middle East, with 55.5 percent of total amount at $388 billion. Other Asian regions took up 30.3 percent of total commissions with $212 billion.