Kuwait’s Ministry of Health has awarded the local Sayed Hamid Behbehani & Sons the KD232m ($802m) contract for design and construction of the expansion of Adan Hospital.

The expansion is a 637-bed annex to the Al-Adan Hospital. The annex will offer 21 operating rooms and eight emergency rooms.

Sayed Hamid Behbehani & Sons submitted the second lowest bid for the work when offers were submitted in late January. The local Khalid Ali al-Kharafi & Brothers submitted the low bid of KD196.9m. The local Alghanim International General Trading & Contracting submitted the third lowest offer with a price of KD252.3m.

Kuwait has already awarded two major hospital building contracts in 2014. The largest is a $940m deal secured by Sayed Hamid Behbehani & Sons for the construction of a 955-bed annex to the Farwaniya hospital. The new facilities will offer 30 emergency rooms and 27 operating rooms together with laboratories, a pharmacy and a car park for 1,500 vehicles.

The other is $636m deal secured by India’s Shapoorji Pallonji, along with local partner Al-Sager General Trading & Contracting Company for the construction of an annex to the Al-Sabah hospital. It involves the construction, equipment and maintenance of a 600-bed medical tower as part of an extension to the existing hospital.

The two schemes are part of a plan to expand nine hospitals to improve the provision of public health services in the country. The expansions will add 5,000 beds to the current capacity.