The local Al-Rayadah Investment Company is preparing to receive bids for the contract to build Saudi Arabia’s new National Aquarium at its King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) scheme in Riyadh.

Al-Rayadah has set a new deadline of 8 September for the aquarium scheme. The initial deadline had been 13 July. The client extended the deadline to allow contractors more time to work on bid submissions.

The proposed aquarium will have a total area of 92,000 square feet and has been designed by US-based Cambridge Seven Associates. The aquarium will feature a transparent LED video display that will cover a total area of 13,000 sq ft, which should be the largest in the world.

Cambridge Seven has also designed a science museum for the KAFD scheme. The museum will be linked to a geo-climate centre and both buildings will be located in the central area of KAFD. Contractors were invited to submit bids for the estimated $300m main construction package on the museum in May.

KAFD is located on a 1.6-million-square-metre site north of Riyadh and will offer commercial and residential districts along with hospitality, retail and recreational facilities. Al-Rayadah is the investment arm of the state-owned Public Pension Agency.

The financial district is one of the largest megaprojects currently under construction in the kingdom, with more than $6.6bn-worth of construction contracts having already been awarded on the scheme.

In September last year, a joint venture of South Korea’s Samsung C&T and the local Contracting & Construction Enterprises (CCE) was awarded the estimated SR1.4bn ($373m) deal to build the Tadawul Tower at KAFD.

The 40-storey tower development will cover a total area of 140,000 sq m and will contain a three-storey car park. UK-based Mace Group is the project manager for the scheme. The tower was designed by Japan’s Nikken Sekkei.