Korean builders’ overseas construction orders received this year so far are worth $14.1 billion, a 40 percent drop compared to last year’s orders worth $23.5 billion in the same time period, according to the International Contractors Association of Korea on Tuesday.

This is also the lowest amount in four years in which orders worth $13.7 billion were recorded in the first six months in 2012.

Orders from the Middle East and Latin America decreased by 44 percent to $6.6 billion and 68.4 percent to $1.3 billion, respectively.

Construction firms did see orders from the Pacific and North America region increase by 302.7 percent, worth $1.3 billion, as well as the African region increase by 112.9 percent, worth $510 million, but these are small markets for Korean builders, and these increases were not enough to change the overall figures.