The local Al-Rayadah Investment Company is preparing to tender three new construction projects worth more than a total of $500m for its King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) project in Riyadh by the end of June in 2012.

The client is preparing to issue tender documents for the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) tower, a museum and an aquarium project in the first two quarters of 2012.

Prequalified contractors have been asked to submit request for proposal (RFP) for the estimated $266m Tadawul project, with tender documents for the development scheduled to be issued in early January. The 40-storey tower will cover a total area of 140,000 square metres. UK-based Mace Group is the project manager and Japan’s Nikken Sekkei is the architect for the tower.

The tender for the main construction package has been delayed after contractors had originally been told by the client that they would receive tender documents for the project by the end of October.

In November, contractors were invited to submit an expression of interest (EOI) for the mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP) contract for the Tadawul scheme (MEED 14:11:11).

The client is also planning to tender an estimated $300m science museum and aquarium by the end of the second quarter of 2012. The science museum and national aquarium have been designed by US-based Cambridge Seven Associates.

The museum will be linked to a geo-climate centre and both buildings will be located in the central area of KAFD. Prequalified contractors are expected to receive tender documents for the main construction package in the second quarter of 2012. Tender documents for the aquarium are expected to be issued to prequalified companies by the end of the first quarter.

KAFD is located on a 1.6 million sq m site north of Riyadh and will offer commercial and residential districts along with hospitality, retail and recreational facilities. The developer, 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 $6.2bn-worth of construction contracts having already been awarded on the scheme.