Ras Al-Khair Industrial City attracts SAR 135 bln private sector investments: CEO

Ahmed bin Mohamed Nour Al-Din Hassan, CEO of the Royal Commission for Ras Al-Khair Industrial City

Ahmed bin Mohamed Nour Al-Din Hassan, CEO of Royal Commission for Ras Al-Khair Industrial City, said that the volume of state investments in the city is about SAR 15 billion.

The authority was able to attract investments worth SAR 135 billion from the private sector, Hassan added.

On the sidelines of the International Mining Conference, the top executive told Argaam that Ras Al-Khair city is considered one of the pillars of the industry, as it is a city specialized in mining industries.

It has a general plan that includes a clear industrial and economic program aimed to attract basic industries in minerals (aluminum - phosphate - copper - zinc - iron minerals) and industrial minerals.

Hassan indicated that the city has an area of 179 square kilometers (sqkm), noting that 52 sqkm have been allocated to industries under implementation, operation or in the design stages.

He also said that 80% of the current contracts have been completed to equip the city's infrastructure to receive industries.

The top executive also revealed that there are a number of industries that will become operational in the next two years, including King Salman Complex for Maritime Industries, Maaden's ammonia 3 factory, the soda ash factory and the excavators factory.

“Agricultural enhancers factories are in their final stages of implementation,” Hassan said.

The operating factories include very large ones, such as the phosphate factory for the production of agricultural fertilizers and the aluminum factory for the production of aluminum sheets that are used in the automobile industry.

There are factories in the final testing stages, such as the factories of excavators and soda ash, which are included in the local content and fulfil the gap to be a major source of products in this aspect, according to Hassan.

He also said that the commission has allocated 18 projects, including two iron and zinc factories, and a number of manufacturing factories in the field of phosphate, aluminum, metal smelting and forming.