The deadline to submit bids for the contract to build the new Ahmadi hospital and surrounding residential buildings in Kuwait has been extended to 12 October.

The submission date has now been extended a number of times. It is believed that the extension was given to allow contractors more time to submit bids.

The hospital development will be located in the Ahmadi township, which is located about 40 kilometres south of Kuwait City.

The client for the project, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), has also prequalified three more local groups to submit tenders for the project. The Combined Group Contracting Company, Syed Hamid Behbani & Sons and First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Company have joined the list of companies qualified for the bidding process.

At least 10 other groups have prequalified for the contract. They are:

• Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
• Consolidated Contractors Company (Athens-based)
• Sinohydro Corporation (China)
• Posco Engineering & Construction Company (South Korea)
• Nurol Construction & Trading Company (Turkey)
• SNC Lavalin (Canada)
• Sembawang Engineers & Contractors (Singapore), Alamiah Building Company (local)  
• Saudi Binladin Group (Saudi Arabia)
• Orascom Construction Industries (Egypt)
• SK Engineering & Construction (South Korea)

KOC originally tendered the contract in 2006, but has decided to retender the project, as the first bids were too high above budget.

The local Kuwait Company for the Process Plant Construction & Contracting (KCPC) was the low bidder when the contract was originally tendered with a price of KD75.6m ($260.7m). The local Mohammed Abdulmoshin Kharafi & Sons submitted the second lowest bid with a price of KD76.7m.

The scope of the project includes the construction, operation and maintenance of the hospital and residential buildings, associated buildings and utilities. The project will have a total built-up area of 74,000 square metres.

The new contract involves provision and installation of medical equipment, which was not included in the scope when the contract was tendered in 2006.

The Ahmadi project is the latest of a number of hospital contracts to have been tendered over the past year in the region.

In November last year, a joint venture of Kuwait Arab Contractors Company and Egypt’s Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Company) was awarded the KD304m contract to build Jaber al-Ahmed al-Sabah Hospital in Surra, a district in Kuwait City (MEED 17:3:09)