The local Al-Rayadah Investment Company has invited contractors to submit bids for the first infrastructure and earthworks package on a 2.4 million-square-metre mixed-use residential project in the Obhur district of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The client has set a submission date of 13 August for the tender, after having prequalified contractors for the infrastructure package earlier in the year. The local Saud Consult has been appointed as infrastructure consultant on the scheme.

Due to severe flooding that has occurred in the Obhur district in recent years, the earthworks will involve moving a substantial amount of earth to raise the site and protect it from future floods.

In January, the local office of KEO International was awarded a contract to provide project management services for the design and construction on the Obhur scheme, which will include 250 residential apartment buildings, 1,200 villas, a five-star hotel, a hospital, clinics, mosques, commercial district, schools and municipal buildings. The development is scheduled to house about 10,000 people by the time it is completed.

The client, Al-Rayadah Investment Company, is emerging as a major player in the kingdom’s construction sector. One of the largest developments that it is currently executing is the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) project in Riyadh.