The government has asked a court to postpone liquidation of ailing Dong Ah Construction Industrial Co., which is building a multibillion-dollar waterway in Libya, a government official said Thursday.

South Korea feared Dong Ah’s liquidation would likely halt its Libya project and damage the international credibility of South Korean construction firms, said Lee Chun-hui, a director general at the Construction and Transportation Ministry.

"We have asked the court to postpone its ruling on whether to liquidate Dong Ah and see to it that the Libyan project will be completed even if the company is liquidated," Lee told a National Assembly hearing.

Dong Ah, South Korea’s fifth largest builder, was placed under court receivership in November.

On Saturday, a court-appointed auditor recommended that Seoul District Civil Court liquidate the ailing company, citing its financial condition. Dong Ah disputed the auditor’s report, arguing that it can survive under court receivership.

A company under court receivership can have its debts frozen temporarily.

Dong Ah has hundreds of overseas projects in progress, including those in Libya, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan. It has warned that a sudden halt to those projects would cause billions of dollars in damage to contractors and customers.

Dong Ah is best known as the prime contractor of Libya’s Great Man-made River Project to build underground irrigation channels across the country.

The company completed the first-stage of the waterway worth $3.7 billion in 1991. The $6.7 billion second stage of the project, launched in 1990, is due to be completed this year. For the third-phase project worth $5 billion, Dong Ah has formed a consortium with the Libyan government.

Dong Ah expanded business during the nation’s boom years in the 1980s and early 1990s with cheap bank loans. It faced serious liquidity problems when the South Korean economy was hit by a financial crisis in late 1997.

Today's top stories

Contractors' Plate Full On Interstate 35 in Texas

Latest Case Launches Help Construction, Utility Contractors Maneuver Tight Labor Markets, Congested Job Sites

Skanska Awarded Contract to Develop Offshore Wind Port at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal

Leica Geosystems Launches its First Machine Smart Antenna — Leica iCON gps 120

Safer Excavator Maintenance With Enerpac Cube Jack Lifting

SkillsUSA Hosts New Jersey State Competition

Connecticut's ARPA Funding Has Led to Downtown Revitalizations in Many Towns

Gov. Abbott Unveils New Uvalde Mental Health Campus