The local Assad Said for Contracting Company is the low bidder for the project to expand the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Jeddah.

Assad Said’s offer of SR1.6bn ($427m) was about 10 per cent lower than the SR1.77bn price submitted by the local Saudi Binladin Group, the second-lowest bidder. Binladin’s bid was marginally lower than the SR1.79bn price submitted by both the local Al-Saad General Contracting Company and the local Haif Contracting.

A joint venture of the local Al-Bawani and UAE-based Drake & Scull International (DSI) submitted a price of SR1.94bn, which was marginally less than the SR1.97 submitted by the sixth-lowest bidder, a joint venture of the local Al-Mabani General Contractors and South Korea’s GS Engineering.

A total of 13 groups submitted bids for the hospital expansion scheme on 28 January.

The main component of the expansion project will involve the construction of two patient towers, 15 and 18-storeys high, and a 24-storey research and academic affairs centre. The new structures will contain 30 operating theatres, 150 intensive care units, a cardiology clinic, neurology clinic, outpatient clinics and emergency treatment facilities.

The scheme will also involve the construction of a 25,000-square-metre Oncology Centre and a 25,000-sq m medical support facilities building. The project will also involve the construction of a car park for more than 1,000 cars. The expansion scheme was designed by the local Care RTKL and Saudi Diyar Consultants. Care RTKL is a joint venture of US-based architecture firm RTKL and Healthcare Development Holding Company (HDH), a division of the local Saudi Binladin Group.

The project manager for the construction programme is US-based Vanir Construction Management. Vanir was recently selected to provide construction management services for the estimated $1.2bn King Khaled Medical City project planned in Dammam.