STX Corp. announced Monday that it signed a memorandum of understanding on building a shipyard for Russia’s state-run shipbuilder United Shipbuilding Corp. at the international economic forum held in St. Petersburg on Friday.

Under the agreement, STX, which counts construction and shipbuilders among its subsidiaries, will undertake the $1 billion project to build a shipyard in St. Petersburg.

The company said that when the contract regarding the content of the MOU is signed, STX will carry out the project on a turn-key basis, and that the market for such projects is likely to expand rapidly.

According to STX, resource-rich countries including Russia and the United Arab Emirates are reviewing plans to build shipyards, but related projects have been slow in taking off due to their lacking technology and experience in building and running shipyards.

Along with the MOU, STX Corp.’s shipbuilding affiliate STX Offshore and Shipbuilding Co. also signed a contract to build two liquefied natural gas carriers for Russia’s state-operated shipping firm Sovcomflot at the forum.

STX Offshore and Shipbuilding had been awarded the $400 million contract in May.

The contract also includes an option for 2 additional LNG carriers, the company said.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)