Chapter 129: Ultra-High-Strength Concrete
Chapter 129: Ultra-High-Strength Concrete
Ministry of Defense Conference Room
A large briefing document filled the screen, dominating the room.
Lieutenant General Kim Dae-hoon, head of the Ministry of Defense’s Facilities Management Headquarters, began his briefing with a solemn voice from the podium.
“This project is a top-tier national strategic facility, the highest level. It will serve as a ‘super-large underground command and control center’ where, in times of war, the President and national leaders can take refuge to command and control the military.”
General Kim paused briefly, scanning the corporate representatives gathered in the meeting room.
Tension hung in the air.
After clearing his throat, he continued his explanation.
“This facility will be designed to ensure the safety of the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other military leaders in times of national crisis. It will provide stable communication networks and command systems, allowing for efficient leadership of the nation.”
At his gesture, a rough outline of the massive underground facility appeared on the screen.
Project Owner:
Location:
Total Budget:
Facility Scale:
Purpose:
Key Facilities:
General Kim took a moment to steady his breath before adding firmly,
“This project will consist of 60% technical evaluation and 40% price evaluation. The technical evaluation, in particular, will involve direct and thorough verification of the protective capabilities of the core facilities.”
The attendees’ eyes lit up.
General Kim’s additional explanation heightened the tension in the room.
“To assess protective capabilities, we will construct a full-scale test bunker. We will simulate actual shelling, explosions, and CBRN attacks to rigorously evaluate its protective performance.”
General Kim then re-emphasized the key evaluation criteria:
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Durability against shelling and bomb attacks.</co: 0:[0]> -
Complete shielding against EMP attacks.</co: 0:[0]> -
Demonstrated effectiveness of CBRN contamination and infiltration prevention systems.</co: 0:[0]> -
Sustainability of underground independent survival systems (air purification, emergency power generation, etc.).</co: 0:[0]>
General Kim concluded,
“Only domestic construction companies with annual revenue of 3 billion dollars or more are eligible to participate in this bid.”
As the presentation ended,
company representatives whispered among themselves, the tension palpable.
Joo Eun-cheon, the representative of
“Kang Representative, this bid will be different from Qatar. Save yourself the trouble and withdraw early—it’s better for your mental health.”
Before I could respond to his taunting smile,
Ma Sung-ryong, the representative of
“You still haven’t learned your lesson after what happened in Qatar? Chairman Chun of Ahsung Group must be feeling generous these days.”
“What?”
“If it were me, I would’ve kicked out someone so incompetent by now.”
Joo Eun-cheon’s eyebrows twitched at Ma Sung-ryong’s harsh words.
“There won’t be any mistakes this time.”
“We’ll see if it was a mistake or if that’s just your level.”
Ma Sung-ryong, looking annoyed, waved casually at Joo Eun-cheon as he walked away.
“Thank you for your help, Representative.”
As I bowed my head, Ma Sung-ryong waved me off.
“That Joo Eun-cheon must’ve been a mongrel in his past life—he’s making a mess everywhere.”
I laughed at his fitting words.
“It’s good to see you after a long time.”
“It’s been four years since the last bid. I’ve heard from Park Representative that you’ve been extremely busy.”
Though I couldn’t meet him often,
we had formed a consortium and worked together on the Qatar project, so Park Cheol-jin and I met frequently.
“By the way, are you confident about winning this bid?”
Surprised by his question, I looked at Ma Sung-ryong.
“Are you saying… Cheongwoon Construction isn’t participating in this bid?”
Ma Sung-ryong nodded.
“We considered it because of the scale, but with ongoing projects like Dongtan New Town, it’s too much to take on.”
With the recent real estate market recovery,
there was plenty of work, so they didn’t need to participate in the bid.
“If Cheongwoon isn’t participating, I’m grateful. We’ll make sure to win the bid.”
“Good luck.”
After watching Ma Sung-ryong leave,
we moved to discuss the bid.
… … …
Dojin Construction Conference Room
The design for the super-large National Command and Control Bunker (NCC) project was displayed on the large screen,
and Park Cheol-jin took the lead in the presentation.
“This bid requires a level of technical expertise far beyond anything we’ve done before.”
Park Cheol-jin pointed to key areas of the design with a laser pointer.
“The core evaluation for the NCC is its protective capabilities. The Ministry of Defense’s criteria include durability against shelling and explosions, EMP shielding performance, perfect CBRN protection, and self-sustaining systems.”
I continued,
“The key will be how well it performs in real-world scenarios.”
“But to test the protective capabilities, we need to build a full-scale prototype bunker. Passing EMP and CBRN tests is one thing, but with actual shelling tests, ordinary preparations won’t be enough.”
Seong-hwan spoke, and Park Cheol-jin replied,
“The test bunker will be constructed on a separate site designated by the Ministry of Defense. Since it will replicate real-world conditions, we need to prepare perfectly—from structural strength and material durability to system reliability.”
“How much time do we have until the evaluation?”
Park Cheol-jin checked the Ministry of Defense’s documents and replied,
“Three months.”
It was a short time, but also long,
though considering what needed to be prepared, the schedule was tight.
“What’s the design concept?”
“We plan to apply top-tier earthquake-resistant design and multi-layered shielding structures to account for realistic military attack scenarios.”
Park Cheol-jin displayed pre-prepared materials on the screen.
“For EMP protection, we’re using a four-layer Faraday Cage, and for CBRN protection, we’re adopting the latest NBC filtering and contamination detection system used by the Israeli military.”
“What about self-sustaining systems?”
“It’s designed to survive for at least 90 days without external supplies. We’ve included independent wastewater treatment, closed-loop air purification, and ultra-efficient fuel cell power generation systems.”
Both Seong-hwan and I exclaimed in awe.
‘They must have prepared for quite some time, even while busy.’
The materials couldn’t have been compiled without extensive research and consideration.
A design ensuring top-tier survival in any war scenario.
But we couldn’t afford to be complacent.
“We seem well-prepared, but I’m worried about what Ahsung will bring.”
Seong-hwan, as if waiting for my concern, replied,
“I looked into it. Ahsung Construction is partnering with their defense subsidiary, Ahsung Defense, for this bid. They’ve also recruited experts in protective design and electronic warfare protection.”
True to the Ahsung name, they were thoroughly prepared.
“We need a unique selling point to differentiate ourselves in the actual tests.”
Seong-hwan replied,
“Brother, the biggest difference in protective capability will be how much impact it can withstand. EMP shielding and CBRN protection only matter if the basic protection is solid.”
Both Park Cheol-jin and I nodded in agreement.
The core of protective facilities was how much impact they could endure.
I paused to think.
‘To win this bid, we need to create a visible difference.’
No matter how well-designed the systems were, if the bunker itself was damaged, it was meaningless.
At that moment, an idea flashed through my mind.
“Ultra-high-strength special concrete!”
“What?”
“Ultra-high-strength concrete? What’s that?”
“It’s concrete at least five times stronger than regular reinforced concrete, and it naturally enhances EMP shielding performance.”
Seeing their confusion, I added,
“Research began in Korea in 2005 as a national project. Theoretically, its compressive strength is five to ten times that of regular concrete.”
“It sounds ideal for protective facilities, but why hasn’t it been used in construction until now?”
Park Cheol-jin wouldn’t have known if it were already in use.
“Because of the cost.”
Seong-hwan asked immediately,
“Cost? How expensive is it?”
“It’s made using expensive advanced materials like micro-steel fibers and nano-silica, and the manufacturing process is complex with strict construction requirements. It’s at least ten times more expensive than regular concrete, if not more.”
Seong-hwan’s mouth dropped open at ‘ten times.’
“Wow, at that price, no matter how good it is, it’s impossible to use, right?”
I nodded.
“Right. That’s why, although technically successful two or three years ago, it completely failed to be adopted for civilian use.”
It was used only in limited military or highly sensitive facilities,
but even then, not in large quantities due to production issues.
“Then, we can’t use it either, can we?”
With a price ten times higher and low productivity,
it was unusable for a large-scale project like this.
But…
“If I said we couldn’t use it, I wouldn’t have brought it up.”
At this point, it was indeed unusable due to cost and production issues,
but
and mass production was achieved about seven years from now.
I remembered it well because it was completed shortly after I was appointed Strategic Planning Director.
“Wait… are you saying you can make this ultra-high-strength concrete?”
“We’ll have to try, but I think we can.”
Park Cheol-jin looked skeptical, but Seong-hwan accepted it quickly.
Having watched me closely over the years,
he trusted me completely, even if I said I could make tofu from beans.
“…If that’s really possible, we could have an absolute advantage in this bid. A bunker made with that concrete wouldn’t be affected by most bombings.”
And not just bombings.
Combined with my Midas touch…
Even I was curious about the outcome.