Cummins Power Generation of the UK signed an agreement in late April to deliver three 1-MW standby power-generating sets for the Saad Specialist Hospital, completing the third and final phase of construction of one of the most advanced private medical facilities in the region. The diesel-powered generating units will provide back-up supply in the event of mains power failure.

Built by Saad Trading & Contracting Company, the construction arm of the Saad Group, the 523-bed hospital was completed in February, although facilities within the hospital complex have been in operation since 2000. The two-block general hospital is located inside a compound which also contains a tertiary care medical centre, a high-rise clinic, the Saad National School and a conference centre containing a 1,000-seat auditorium and 30 conference rooms. The hospital campus also provides housing for nursing staff and other personnel, and recreation facilities including swimming pools, a gymnasium and tennis courts.

Future plans for the complex include the construction of a hotel close to the site to house relatives of patients from outside Al-Khobar. The Saad National School will be converted into a nursing college for the hospital and will be replaced by two schools currently being built by Saad in the city. A girls' school is scheduled to open in September this year, and construction of a school for boys is expected to be complete in September 2003. Both schools will provide for 3,000 students each.