diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/octopus/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/octopus/default.nix
index 8a97dc5f0c33..d0058c8650d8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/octopus/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/chemistry/octopus/default.nix
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 }:
 
 assert (!blas.isILP64) && (!lapack.isILP64);
+assert (blas.isILP64 == arpack.isILP64);
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "octopus";
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/calculix/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/calculix/default.nix
index df943277a627..4b0ae6f8ac9d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/calculix/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/calculix/default.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 { lib, stdenv, fetchurl, gfortran, arpack, spooles, blas, lapack }:
 
+assert (blas.isILP64 == lapack.isILP64 &&
+        blas.isILP64 == arpack.isILP64 &&
+        !blas.isILP64);
+
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "calculix";
   version = "2.19";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/igraph/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/igraph/default.nix
index 69778f034829..9381f1b9ea30 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/igraph/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/igraph/default.nix
@@ -21,6 +21,10 @@
 , xmlto
 }:
 
+assert (blas.isILP64 == lapack.isILP64 &&
+        blas.isILP64 == arpack.isILP64 &&
+        !blas.isILP64);
+
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "igraph";
   version = "0.9.10";
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
index 9d96368a4cda..bdb386b9fe5c 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/science/math/arpack/default.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 { lib, stdenv, fetchFromGitHub, fetchpatch, cmake
-, gfortran, blas, lapack, eigen }:
+, gfortran, blas, lapack, eigen
+, useMpi ? false
+, mpi
+, openssh
+}:
+
+# MPI version can only be built with LP64 interface.
+# See https://github.com/opencollab/arpack-ng#readme
+assert useMpi -> !blas.isILP64;
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "arpack";
@@ -27,13 +35,16 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     blas
     lapack
     eigen
-  ];
+  ] ++ lib.optional useMpi mpi;
+
+  checkInputs = lib.optional useMpi openssh;
 
   doCheck = true;
 
   cmakeFlags = [
     "-DBUILD_SHARED_LIBS=ON"
     "-DINTERFACE64=${if blas.isILP64 then "1" else "0"}"
+    "-DMPI=${if useMpi then "ON" else "OFF"}"
   ];
 
   preCheck = ''
@@ -45,6 +56,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     install_name_tool -change libblas.dylib ${blas}/lib/libblas.dylib $out/lib/libarpack.dylib
   '';
 
+  passthru = { inherit (blas) isILP64; };
+
   meta = {
     homepage = "https://github.com/opencollab/arpack-ng";
     description = ''