The main construction contract on Riyadh’s estimated SR3bn ($800m) Burj Rafal is scheduled to be awarded in June this year.  

At least four contractors are bidding for the contract to build the mixed-use project. The three UAE-based contractors are Al-Shafar General Contracting, Dubai Contracting Company (DCC) and Gulf Technical Construction Company (GTCC). The local office of Singapore’s Jurong International is the fourth bidder. 

Planned for completion in the second quarter of 2012, the 305-metre Burj Rafal will be Riyadh’s first development to offer mixed-gender public space in its hotel, recreation and commercial areas.

Planned for a 22,000-square-metre site in the northern Assahafa district of Riyadh, the 62-storey Burj Rafal will include:

• 260 luxury apartments (23 floors)
• 2,000-person grand ballroom & 24 meeting rooms (1 floor)
• 297-room Kempinski Hotel & 54 serviced apartments (17 floors)
• Office space (13 floors)
• 2 wellness spas (1 floor)       
• 4,000 sqm of retail space (podium)

The Dubai office of Hong Kong’s P&T Architects & Engineers designed the project and is serving as its mechanical, electrical and plumbing consultant and structural engineer.

Australia’s Windtech is the wind engineer on the supertall tower and the UK’s Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) is its construction consultant. Dubai’s International Project Management is overseeing the project.

Combining guest space in the Burj Rafal represents a break from tradition in a city that often still segregates men and women while eating and socialising.