Carillion, a leading British facilities management and construction services company, said its joint venture firm in Oman has been awarded a £240-million ($315 million) contract to design and build the new Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah.

The contract, which has been awarded by Oman's Ministry of Health, to Carillion Alawi, a 50:50 joint venture with Zawawi family, will consist of a two-stage design-and-build process.

The initial design and mobilisation phase, which will be directly funded by the customer, will commence immediately, said a statement from Carillion.

The second phase would begin next year once the design work gets completed along with contract execution and fund finalisation, it added.

The British firm said a further letter of award is due to be signed shortly by Carillion Alawi with the health ministry for a similar hospital project in the Khasab region of the sultanate.

The contract is on similar terms to those for the Salalah award and, if it does go ahead, would have an estimated value of £120 million ($157 million) to the Carillion JV, said a company spokesman.

"Both contracts are procured via lower risk procurement routes, for example through seeking support from UK Export Finance to secure project finance for customers. The group continues to look at ways in which it can de-risk its operations in the Middle East, working with its partners in the region to secure the future of this business," he added.-TradeArabia News Service