Contractors are waiting for the local Rayadah Investment Company (RIC) to issue tender documents for a project to build three towers, a convention centre and related service buildings on King Fahad Road, Riyadh.

Contractors submitted prequalification documents in 2013 and are expecting tenders to be issued before the end of the first quarter this year.

RIC has become an increasingly important construction client in the kingdom in the past few years, due to the number and size of its projects planned or under way. One of the largest developments it is currently executing is the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) project in Riyadh.

KAFD is located on a 1.6 million-square-metre site north of Riyadh and will offer commercial and residential districts along with hospitality, retail and recreational facilities. The financial district is one of the largest megaprojects currently under construction in the kingdom, with more than $6.2bn-worth of contracts having already been awarded on the scheme.

RIC is also pushing ahead with large housing developments in the western cities of Jeddah and Jizan. In December, the client invited contractors to submit bids for construction packages on two housing developments in Saudi Arabia.

The first contract is for residential apartment buildings at its 2.4 million sq m, mixed-use, residential project in the Obhur district of Jeddah. The contract will involve building more than 80 residential buildings and other facilities, such as retail units.

In January 2012, 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, a commercial district, schools and municipal buildings. The development will house about 10,000 people by the time it is completed.

For the second contract, RIC invited contractors to submit bids for the infrastructure package on a housing project in Jizan. The contract will involve providing infrastructure for the whole development, which covers a total area of about 1.6 million sq m.