The client, the Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu, is to award the contract on 18 February for dredging and reclamation works for quay berth three.

A site preparation contract for a 20-square-kilometre industrial area of the city is expected to be awarded by the end of the month.

The Royal Commission will also be issuing a site preparation contract for the University College, with the construction contract to follow. This covers a campus for 18,000 students. Work is to be completed by 2012.

A further two contracts will be tendered soon to extend the port facilities. One will cover five berths, while the other involves extensive marine works. The plan is for the ports area to handle 115 million tonnes a year by 2015, up from 44 million tonnes.

“We have 70 contracts running at the moment, all of which have gone to local contractors or joint ventures involving local com-panies,” says George Dinic, programme manager at Saudi Arabian Bechtel Company, the consultant on the scheme. “We will award another 43 contracts this year.”

Three projects were awarded recently for four housing areas with a total of 650 villas. Two were awarded to the local Radico for SR500m ($134m) and one to the local Azmel for SR250m.

Jubail Industrial City is located 100 kilometres north of Dammam on the Gulf coast.