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Jordan’s construction sector will get a major boost this year as the country’s largest project prepares to move onsite over the summer after the first phase of its masterplan has been finalised.

The $400m hospital project is being developed by the Saudi Jordanian Fund for Medical and Educational Investments Company (SJFMEI) on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

It is the largest active standalone project in Jordan, according to regional projects tracker MEED Projects. The second-largest project is the estimated $228m King Hussein Bridge Terminal and Freight Yard project, which is at the prequalification stage.

For the hospital project, SJFMEI appointed US-based Hill International in partnership with the local sub-consultant Dar al-Omran to provide project construction management services last year. The project team is now preparing to tender construction contracts.

“We have completed the first phase of the masterplan,” Said Mneimne, senior vice-president of Hill International, told MEED in an interview.

“This summer, we will appoint a contractor for the enabling works. We will then appoint a contractor for the foundations and the structure,” he added.

The scale of the project is a challenge for Jordan’s construction sector and an international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor may be needed to deliver the project.

“We have not yet decided what the contracting strategy will be,” Mneimne said. 

The project involves the construction of a university hospital with 330 beds, 72 outpatient clinics, a children’s hospital, and a medical school with a total capacity of 600 students and a projected annual intake of 100 students.

The project also includes five medical centres of excellence focused on disciplines such as cardiology, oncology, neurology, gastroenterology and orthopaedics. There will also be four scientific research centres in genomics and precision medicine, stem cells and regenerative medicine, health systems and public health, and bioinformatics.

The built-up area is estimated at 110,000 square metres. It will be located on the airport road, near the Ghamadan area on the outskirts of Amman.

A joint venture of Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) and Perkins & Will was appointed for the engineering design and supervision services.

SJFMEI is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Jordanian Investment Fund (SJIF). Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) owns 95 per cent of the fund, while Jordanian banks hold the remaining 5 per cent.

Ownership of the project will be transferred to the Jordanian government after the end of the investment period.