Saudi Arabia’s Health Minister Dr Abdullah Al-Rabeeah is set to sign SR3 billion ($800 million) worth of contracts with local establishments for various health project in the kingdom, said a report.

The contracts involve the building of new hospitals and IT facilities, besides services such as cleaning and maintenance, said the Arab News report quoting senior Ministry of Health official Khalid Al-Mirghalani.

Al-Mirghalani added that the health minister, who introduced the ‘Patients First’ programme, has embarked on a national health care programme of which the strategy is to cover people in every part of the kingdom.

In October last year, King Abdullah inaugurated 420 health projects and laid foundation stones for 127 other health facilities worth SR12 billion.

The ministry is currently constructing 122 hospitals and medical towers and 305 primary health care units, said the report.