Ras Al-Khair (Also called Ras Az-Zour, Ras Azzour) is a town and port currently under development in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. It is on the eastern coast, 60 km (37 mi) 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. 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 Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular formu ...

. 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 Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for Aluminum Company of America) is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary ...

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. The

King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex The King Salman Global Maritime Industries Complex is a shipyard in Ras Al-Khair, Saudi Arabia that is under construction and planned to open in late 2018. Upon completion, it will be the largest shipyard in the world. Development of the facility ...

is under construction in Ras Al-Khair, and will be the largest shipyard in the world when it is completed.

Transportation

Airport

The town is served by

King Fahd International Airport King Fahd International Airport ( ar, مطار الملك فهد الدولي; KFIA) , also known as Dammam International Airport or simply Dammam Airport or King Fahd Airport, is the international airport serving Dammam, Saudi Arabia. The airp ...

, the terminal is at a driving distance of 180 km (112 mi) to the south.

Rail

Ras Az-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 Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...

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

Jalamid Jalamid( ar, حزم الجلاميد) is a town and crossroads in Saudi Arabia near the Iraqi border. Jalamid Phosphate Mine The Al Jalamid site comprises the phosphate mine, beneficiation plant and supporting infrastructure and encompasses a ...

and the agricultural center at Al-Basyata as well as to the oil processing facilities via the Jubail line.

Sea

The proposed seaport 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 Az-Zour to Ras Al-Khair (with ''Khair'' meaning light or bright to have a more positive naming), according to a statement by President of the

Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) was established on 21 September 1975, as an autonomous organization of the Saudi Arabian Government. The commission is governed by a board of directors and its chairman reports to the Council of Mi ...

Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan to the Saudi Press Agency on 6 July 2011.Okaz newspaper - Renaming of Ras Al-Zour
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References

External links

Mining is new pillar of the Saudi economy
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www.RasAlKhair.com {{Saudi Arabia topics Geography of Saudi Arabia Populated places in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia Populated coastal places in Saudi Arabia Port cities in the Arabian Peninsula Port cities and towns in Saudi Arabia