State energy company Qatar Petroleum (QP) is inviting firms to express interest in the contract to build its headquarters, known as the Qatar Petroleum Complex, at Lusail, north of Doha.

The contract involves laying the foundations and building the concrete superstructures of four nine to 15-storey office blocks, and a central concourse connecting the towers at ground level.

QP plans to issue tenders for the contract by the end of October and to award the contract in February 2010.

Once the building is completed, QP plans to consolidate all its Doha-based operations at the complex, which will accommodate 3,000 employees. It will include a medical centre, corporate training facilities, data centres, car parks, recreational facilities, a sports stadium and associated infrastructure (MEED 17:7:09).

The development will cover a built-up area of 540,000 square metres with 300,000 sq m of outdoor landscaping. The US’ Skidmore Owings & Merrill is the architect, while Martha Schwartz Partners, also of the US, designed the landscaping.

In July, QP invited contractors to express interest in the first-phase construction deal, which involves building car parks and temporary site offices, together with enabling works.

Meanwhile, QP has delayed the deadline for bids to build an office at its Ras Laffan industrial complex until 18 October. It has extended the deadline from the previous closing date of 4 October to give bidders more time to prepare prices (MEED 28:8:09).

QP will use these buildings as the headquarters for its operations at Ras Laffan, home to most of Qatar’s oil and gas projects.

QP first tendered the scheme in 2008 but later decided to retender the project to benefit from the fall in labour and materials prices since the onset of the downturn.