WORLD : U.S. Builder Signs Tokyo Contract
<i> From Times wire service</i> s
TOKYO —
A major U.S. construction firm signed a contract today to join in a $47.9-million building project in downtown Tokyo.
Morrison-Knudsen International Co. will join with Hazama-Gumi Ltd., one of Japan’s largest civil engineering firms, to build a 16-story office and residential tower for Shuwa Corp., a large Japanese real estate firm.
Morrison-Knudsen has established an office in Tokyo and obtained a Japanese construction permit, which the Ministry of Construction says only nine U.S. construction firms currently possess.
Amid complaints that Japan’s construction market was closed to foreign companies, the Japanese government signed an agreement in 1988 to allow U.S. companies to participate in public works projects here.
