The tender for the second phase of the maritime package for the King Salman International Complex for Maritime Industries & Services, located in Ras al-Khair on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast, is expected to be released in the last quarter of 2017.

The package entails the construction of several dry docks, basins, piers and utility buildings.

Sources tell MEED the tender is expected to be released once the contract for the dredging and reclamation work is awarded to the selected bidder.

A team of local Huta Marine and Netherlands’ Archirodon submitted a low bid for the reclamation and dredging contract, which comprises the initial phase of the project.

The maritime complex is being managed by Saudi Aramco.

Aramco recently signed a joint venture agreement with state-owned National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri), UAE-based marine engineering specialist Lamprell and South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to build a $5.2bn shipyard in Ras al-Khair.

The maritime yard will be the largest in the GCC in terms of size and scale, and will be partially operational in 2019 and fully operational by 2022.

The yard will comprise 4.3 kilometres along the coast of Ras al-Khair in the kingdom’s eastern province.

Lamprell will be the technical partner for Zones A and D, which will provide maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for jack-up drilling rigs and commercial vessels, and the construction of jack-up drilling rigs, respectively.

HHI will be the technical partner for Zones B and C, which will respectively construct and undertake MRO services for offshore support vessels, and construct commercial vessels.

Aramco will enter an offtake agreement with the joint venture to purchase, or procure the purchase, of a minimum of 20 jack-up drilling rigs, as well as offshore support vessels and MRO services for jack-up drilling rigs and offshore support vessels operating on Aramco’s offshore assets.

Bahri agreed to purchase a minimum of 75 per cent of its commercial vessel requirements and MRO services from the joint venture based on competitive market prices.

Aramco has agreed to fund $3.5bn of the project’s total cost of $5.2bn. The remaining cost will be covered by the consortium based on the requirements of each zone. Lamprell said it would invest up to a maximum of $140m in the scheme.

The megaproject is in line with Aramco’s strategy to increase the volume of goods and services it procures from inside Saudi Arabia.