The Ministry of Health is reportedly planning on offering a bid to the private sector for operating one of the state-owned hospitals in North of Riyadh (300 beds, 43 clinics) within days, which should be effective in 2017, according to unnamed sources in the ministry. This comes in line with the government’s plan to privatise the healthcare sector; through extending the operations to the private sector while maintaining the supervisory role, where the ministry is planning to offer a number of other hospitals to the private sector  with different capacities and in different locations in the coming period.