The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Eng. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi who is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maaden Company and the Board's members inspected the site of the Mining Industrial City in Ras Al-Zour in the Eastern Region.
Following the field tour, the Minister gave a signal for the project to start.
The Minister was accompanied by Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz, Advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and the Governor of Jubail Abdulmohsin Al-Otaishan.
In a press statement, the Minister said that Maaden will set up the Mining Industrial City, the first of its kind in the Middle East at a cost of nearly SR 30 billion, adding that its site encompasses various major utilities for producing mining industries and exporting them to the world market.
Al-Naimi noted that this special privilege will contribute to the reduction of the production costs of these industries and that they will surpass the world mining industries.
He pointed out that raw materials will be transported from their places in the north and center of the Kingdom to the city by railway, which will be established by General Investment Fund.
He indicated that the Kingdom has unique geological characteristics and it has various valuable minerals such as gold, silver and major minerals such as copper and zinc.
The City's production will start at the beginning of 2009, the Minister said and added that total investment in the first phase amounts to more than SR 20 billion and after completion of the first stage of the project, it will create 16,000 direct or indirect jobs.
The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources stressed that the Kingdom's accession to the World Trade Organization will attract more investment in the Kingdom including investment in mining industry and it will open wider horizons for the mining industries in the world markets.
The Minister said that the Board held a meeting in Jubail Governorate today. The meeting reviewed the Company's plans and programs.
