Kuwait has awarded a new KD475.32-million ($1.57 billion) contract for work on its planned Al Zour oil refinery to a consortium led by Italy’s Saipem, state news agency Kuna reported.

The contract, to be completed in 45 months, was the lowest offer submitted in the tender, Khalid Al Asousi, a spokesman of the state-run Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) said, according to Kuna. The signing of all contracts is expected to take place early next month (October), Asousi said.

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah said Saipem’s offer was for the so-called “fourth package”, the last major contract for the Zour plant. It includes building storage tanks and pipelines for the refinery, one of the largest in the Middle East.

In July, state-run Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) awarded KD3.48 billion ($11.5 billion) in contracts to build the planned 615,000 barrel-per-day refinery.

That included a $1.5-billion contract for a consortium comprising Saipem, Hyundai Engineering and Construction and SK Engineering and Construction to build a marine export terminal. Signing of all contracts will take place early next month.