Ras Al-Khair

Ras Al-Khair (Also called Ras Al-Zour, Ras Azzour) is a town and port currently under development^[1] on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia 60 km north of Jubail. It is also known under its project name of "Minerals Industrial City".

Industry

The new city, RAZMIC (Ras Al Zour Mineral Industrial City), is planned to exploit the mineral deposites of phosphate and bauxite found within Saudi Arabia.^[2] Therefore, a di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) plant will be built, an aluminium smelter, an aluminium rolling mill, an ammonia plant, an alumina refinery and facilities to produce phosphoric and sulphuric acid. Power will be supplied by a new combined 2,350 MW power station and desalination plant.^[3]

The official ground breaking for the aluminium project by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MA'ADEN) and Alcoa was on 19 June 2010.^[4] The project is scheduled to be completed by 2014. Among other projects a residential village for the MAADEN employees was built with 500 housing units.^[5]

Transport

Ras Al-Zour will be linked by the Saudi Railways Organization to the bauxite mines at Zabirah with a new railway line branch of the North-South Project.^[6] Later the line will be extended to meet the line from Riyadh via Buraidah to Haditha at the so-called Zubairah Junction.^[7] As part of the Saudi Landbridge Project another line will connect the new port to Jubail and to Dammam. Thus Ras Al-Zour will be connected to the bauxite mine near Zabirah, the phosphate deposits near Jalamid and the agricultural center at Al-Basyata as well as to the oil processing facilities via the Jubail line.

The proposed port is thought to become a major export hub for aluminium products and ammonium phosphate.

Renaming

In July 2011, King Abdullah has changed the name of Ras Al-Zour to Ras Al- Khair, President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency on Wednesday 6 July.^[8][9]

See also

• Khair
• Railway stations in Saudi Arabia
• Transport in Saudi Arabia

References

1. New port to be built in the Eastern Province
2. Mining is new pillar of the Saudi economy
3. SWCC - Ras Al Zour Power and Desalination Plant
4. Saudi Maaden/Alcoa - Aluminum Complex
5. Ras Al Zour Residential Village
6. The SAR project, formerly known as the North-South Railway (NSR)
7. SAR Civil Contracts
8. Ma'aden Corporate Communications - Renaming of Ras Al-Zour
9. Okaz newspaper - Renaming of Ras Al-Zour

External links

• Mining is new pillar of the Saudi economy

Coordinates: 27°27′21″N 49°18′01″E / 27.4557°N 49.3002°E