Ras Al-Khair is a town and port currently under development on the eastern coast of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 60 km north of Jubail

Jubail

Jubail , is a city in the Eastern province on the Persian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia. It consists of the Old Town of Al Jubail, which was originally a small fishing village, up to 1975 and the new industrial area....

. It is also known under its project name of "Minerals Industrial City"

Industry

The new city, RAZMIC (Ras Al Zawr 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 ammonia

Ammonia

Ammonia is a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula . It is a colourless gas with a characteristic pungent odour. Ammonia contributes significantly to the nutritional needs of terrestrial organisms by serving as a precursor to food and fertilizers. Ammonia, either directly or...

 plant, an alumina refinery and facilities to produce phosphoric

Phosphoric acid

Phosphoric acid, also known as orthophosphoric acid or phosphoric acid, is a mineral acid having the chemical formula H3PO4. Orthophosphoric acid molecules can combine with themselves to form a variety of compounds which are also referred to as phosphoric acids, but in a more general way...

 and sulphuric acid. Power will be supplied by a new combined 2,350 MW power station and desalination plant.

The official ground breaking for the aluminium project by the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (MA'ADEN)

Maaden (company)

MA'ADEN is a diversified mining company, active in gold base metals mining and infrastructure industry. Ma'aden was formed as a Saudi joint stock company on 23 March 1997 for the purpose of facilitating the development of Saudi Arabia’s mineral resources. It is the largest mining company in Saudi...

 and Alcoa

Alcoa

Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...

 was on 19 June 2010. 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.

Transport

Ras Al-Zour will be linked by the Saudi Railways Organization to the bauxite

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...

 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

Riyadh

Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

 via Buraidah

Buraidah

Buraidah is the capital of Al-Qassim Province in northcentral Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian peninsula. Buraidah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and the Persian Gulf to the east...

 to Haditha

Haditha

Haditha is a city in the western Iraqi Al Anbar Governorate, about 240 km northwest of Baghdad. It is a farming town situated on the Euphrates River at . Its population of around 100,000 people is predominantly Sunni Muslim Arabs...

 at the so called Zubairah Junction. As part of the Saudi Landbridge Project

Saudi Landbridge Project

The Saudi Landbridge Project is a planned railway project which forms part of the .Intended mainly for freight, the railway will connect Jeddah on the Red Sea coast with the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. The existing 450 km line between Riyadh and Dammam will be upgraded, and a second...

 another line will connect the new port to Jubail and to Dammam

Dammam

Dammam is the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, the most oil-rich region in the world. The judicial and administrative bodies of the province and several government departments are located in the city. Dammam is the largest city in the Eastern Province and third largest in Saudi...

. Thus Ras Al-Zour will be connected to the bauxite mine near Zabirah, the phosphate

Phosphate

A phosphate, an inorganic chemical, is a salt of phosphoric acid. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry or ecology. Inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in...

 deposits near Jalamid

Jalamid

- Transport :It has phosphate deposits and is therefore the probable destination of a branch railway of the Saudi Railways Organization.- External links :*...

 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

King Abdullah

-Current monarchs:*Abdullah of Saudi Arabia , regent of Saudi Arabia since 1999 and king since 2005*Abdullah II of Jordan , king of Jordan since 1999-Previous monarchs:*Abdullah I of Jordan , king of Transjordan...

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.

External links

• Mining is new pillar of the Saudi economy

http://www.RasAlKhair.com