State oil company Saudi Aramco has received prequalification documents for the contract to build a 60,000 seat stadium and four other construction packages at its $10bn King Abdullah Sports City development near Jeddah.

Saudi Aramco has received prequalification documents for the contract to build a 60,000 seat stadium

Once firms have been prequalified, Aramco will tender the five construction packages as lump sum turnkey contracts.

The contracts cover:

• The 60,000-seat main stadium
• Indoor arena, grand mosque and outdoor athletics stadium
• Sports academy, sports medical centre, residential complex for athletes, outdoor football pitches
• Aquatic centre, women’s sports complex
• Railway station

Contractors have also been invited to bid for a road building and infrastructure contract (MEED 19:8:10).

The enabling works involves earthworks such as general site levelling and preparation and the 10-month road contract involves the construction of two interchanges and a perimeter road, says a source close to the project.

UK-based Arup is the consultant on the scheme.

The project client, Saudi Aramco, declined to comment on the construction packages.

King Abdullah Sports City was approved by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud in February 2009. It will cover an area of 9 square-kilometres some 60 km north of Jeddah alongside the Mecca-Medina highway.