Contractors have been invited to bid by 17 April for the contract to build the hospital and medical university to be built at Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) that will be run by Saudi Arabia’s Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH).

Known as University Hospital, the project, which is estimated to cost AED1bn ($272m) to build, will be constructed in two phases. The 300-bed teaching hospital is expected to be completed by mid-2017, followed by the medical college in 2019.

The entire project will stretch across 150,000 square metres. The hospital will focus on family healthcare and patient-centred services, targeting the growing community of residents in DSO, as well as neighbouring areas.

The consultant is Italy’s Studio Altieri.

Established in 1978, DSFH is the one of the largest private hospitals in the Middle East, with a total capacity of 600 beds. A tertiary referral hospital located in Jeddah, DSFH is visited by 800,000 patients a year, who are served by a workforce of 3,000 staff.

In 2011, the local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion has been awarded an estimated $183m contract to build the second phase of the 200-bed Al-Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital in Dubai. The hospital, which is now largely complete, is located adjacent to the Al-Wasl Hospital, close to Dubai Creek and Garhoud Bridge on Oud Metha road.

The construction work for the second phase of the project is scheduled to take 26 months to complete. Like the University Hospital, it was designed by Studio Altieri. The client for the project is Dubai Health Authority (DHA).