Arabian Gulf University (AGU) president Dr Khalid Abdulrahman Al Ohaly confirmed the university had received and reviewed bids from five contractors to construct the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Academic Medical Centre within the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Medical City.

CONSTRUCTION work on a multi-million dollar medical city in Bahrain is scheduled to commence in the third quarter of the year, with the contractor to be finalised in June.

The project, funded by a $1 billion grant from the late Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, will go ahead on a one-million square metre plot of land near Askar donated by His Majesty King Hamad.

“The bids will be further discussed and evaluated by a special committee formed by the university,” said Dr Al Ohaly yesterday.

“The evaluation process is expected to be completed by next month and the contractor to be chosen to build the centre will be announced in June.

“The construction of the centre is expected to be completed within 24 months and ready to receive patients in early 2021,” he said in a statement.

AGU deputy president Dr Khalid Saeed Tabbara detailed the plans of further stages of construction to the GDN.

He noted that the five contractors were from Saudi Arabia, as part of the requirement of the project.

“One of these contractors will be chosen to build the centre who will obviously need sub-contractors, which could be from Bahrain, depending on the need and how they meet the required conditions.”

He added that the project has been divided into seven packages that will ensure limited time of implementation of services once the centre is ready.

“Even at the time when we planned this grand project, it was felt that it would be time-consuming if we wait for various phases to be implemented after the completion of the medical city.”

He said the first package is completed, which involved levelling the ground which is now ready for construction.

“The second package worth BD15 million involves building the infrastructure inside the city, which is sponsored by Bahrain government through the Saudi fund and work is on since December.

“The third package is the electricity substation, which will also be paid through the GCC fund and will be implemented by Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Affairs Ministry.

“Saudi Arabia has recently announced that it had called for contractors (in Saudi Arabia) for pre-qualifications to build sewage treatment plants, which is part of the fourth package.

“The fifth package is the infrastructure outside the city which includes the access roads and the Bahrain government is taking care of it.

“The sixth and seventh packages are furniture and equipment which will be announced maybe one year before the opening of the city.”

The GDN reported earlier this year (January) that the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will include a hospital with 300 beds and a planned expansion to reach 500 beds.

Once operational the medical city will have a full range of outpatient clinics, in addition to 15 operating rooms and quality support medical services such as advanced laboratories and a pharmacy.

“Our dream at the AGU – to have our own educational hospital – is becoming a reality after long years of planning and preparations,” said Dr Tabbara.

Design

“The design of the university hospital is compatible with the academic specifications and requirements to include an academic centre, meetings and study rooms in all clinics and wards, and a clinical research centre.

“The project will be for a medical city and not only for the hospital.

“A new medical school building, research centres, various health services, homes for doctors and medical staff, a hotel, a commercial complex, playgrounds and parks will be established in the near future.

“This is expected to also contribute to the development of the adjacent area in the southern parts of the island.”

raji@gdn.com.bh

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