Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry has invited contractors to submit bids for an infrastructure package on the planned Governmental Authorities Complex in Riyadh.

The Governmental Authorities Complex will be located on the site next to the Princess Noura University on the outskirts of Riyadh. The site will cover a total area of 5 million square metres, and the initial infrastructure package will cover roads, utilities and associated networks.

The submission date for bids for the first infrastructure contract is 4 May. Due to the large size of the site, the infrastructure packages could be worth up to a total value of SR5bn ($1.3bn). The Finance Ministry is developing the land for the project, and then each of the major government ministries will be given land to build their own facilities.

The complex is the latest of several major governmental construction projects currently planned or under execution in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry has invited contractors to submit prices to build the first phase of its planned Military Medical City, also located close to Princess Noura University. Bids were originally due in mid-March. The first phase of the hospital will contain 1,500 beds, as well as laboratories, warehouses and administrative buildings. The construction contract will include providing infrastructure and utilities.

Meanwhile, the kingdom’s Interior Ministry has invited contractors to bid for the contract to build it a new headquarters building in Jeddah. The Interior Ministry has become one of Saudi Arabia’s key state construction clients in recent years, having tendered several multibillion-dollar projects, including the various phases of its King Abdullah Project (KAP) security network programme.

In February, the Interior Ministry received bids for eight packages on phase 2e of the KAP programme. Cyprus-based Joannou & Paraskevaides (J&P) submitted the low bid for five packages, while UAE-based Beijing Emirates offered the lowest prices for the remaining three contracts.

The KAP programme will cover the construction, operation and maintenance of 28 types of facility at more than 50 locations. In total, the ministry is expected to spend more than $13bn across the five phases of the project.