Saudi Aramco has signed a second contract to build homes for its employees, the state-owned oil company said on Wednesday in its weekly magazine The Arabian Sun.

The contract to build 791 homes is part of plans to build more than 8,000 homes in total, as well as schools and community facilities, as the company seeks to meet soaring demand for accommodation from its growing workforce.

Aramco's workforce grew to almost 62,000 in 2014 from just over 57,000 the year before as the company, which has both the world's largest proven crude oil reserves and is the largest crude exporter, expands its activities.

Most expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia live in gated communities, which allow Westerners to enjoy more relaxed living conditions than would be permissible in wider Saudi society.

The new development on a 10-sq-km plot of land in Dhahran is 8 km southwest of Aramco's headquarters.

The cost and timeframe of the project, to be built by a consortium of Saudi-based Azmeel Contracting and China's Sinohydro Corporation, was not disclosed.

Aramco already has many gated communities. The largest is at its Dhahran headquarters, with a population of 10,000 people.

In September, Aramco said Azmeel had been awarded the first contract in the project to build 955 homes.-Reuters