King Khalid Medical City construction said to begin in 2016

Construction on Dammam’s King Khalid Medical City (KKMC) is expected to start in early 2016, after the Saudi ministry of health awards a contractor for the project in the near future, Mubarak Al-Mulhim, chief executive of King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam (KFSH-D) told Al-Yaum newspaper.

He said the KKMC project, which has faced several delays, should be completed by 2020.

The construction tender was floated last year, while a number of bids had been submitted.

The delay could be attributed to economic conditions, leading to a budget adjustment for the kingdom’s four new medical cities, Al-Mulhim added.

KKMC is estimated to cost SAR 4.65 billion, according to an earlier report published by Argaam. The 700,000 square-meter facility will house a 1,500 bed hospital, a research center, staff accommodations, an international medical academy as it will be the future headquarters of KFSH–D.

KKMC is the largest of four hospital developments planned for Saudi Arabia that had been initiated by a royal decree from King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.