One engineering, procurement and construction package covers dredging and reclamation work. It also involves building roads, an approach bridge, a utilities network, an electricity substation, and a corrosion protection and monitoring system.

Six companies have been prequalified to price the work: China Harbour Engineering Company, Belgium’s Jan de Nul, Van Oord and Royal Boskalis Westminster of The Netherlands, Geneva-registered Archirodon, and the local Huta.

The other contract covers the construction of five berths, a communication network, five hose towers and pipe racks. The four invited contractors are South Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company, China Harbour, Huta and Boskalis.

The value of each contract is $500-600m, and they are expected to take at least two years to complete. Sources close to the project say the bid deadline is expected to be extended by about six weeks. The client is the Royal Com-mission for Jubail & Yanbu (MEED 20:07:07).

The quay is being developed to help cope with the massive amounts of petrochemical products due to come on stream nearby over the next three years.

More than $20bn is being spent on expanding capacity in Jubail, including the production of more than 2 million tonnes a year of polyethylene and polypropylene.