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Ras Al-Khair (Also called Ras Al-Zour, Ras Azzour) is a town and port currently under development on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia 60 km north of Jubail. It is also known under its project name of "Minerals Industrial City".
Contents
Map of Ras Al Khair Saudi Arabia
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. 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 the 2,400 MW Ras Al-Khair Power and Desalination Plant.
The official ground breaking for the aluminium project by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MA'ADEN) and Alcoa was on 19 June 2010. The project was scheduled to be completed by 2014. Among other projects a residential village for the MAADEN employees was built with 500 housing units.
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. Later the line will be extended to meet the line from Riyadh via Buraidah to Haditha at the so-called Zubairah Junction. 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 changed the name of Ras Al-Zour to Ras Al- Khair, according to a statement by President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan to the Saudi Press Agency on 6 July 2011.