Today they announced that they are going to build 2 more economic cities, but does anyone know where they are going to be exactly ?. They said North West and East but did not say which Cities. This will be good if they build I guess.

MM

where did they announce that?

where did they announce that?

Here: http://www.arabnews.com/?page=6&section=0&article=95554&d=29&m=4&y=2007

MM

i think it's ras al zur & tabuk!!!

by the way why you sed in last(MM):D

Six economic cities

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1484/saudimappv1.jpg


:fiddle:

So, the focus of Ras Alzor city will be mining industries. What about Tabouk?

i think it's ras al zur & tabuk!!!

by the way why you sed in last(MM):D

Hi saudi guy,i was just interested to now.It is good ideas I think
Thanks
MM

$ 6 billion !!!!!

Maaden in SR26bn Deal
Roger Harrison, Arab News


RIYADH, 1 May 2007 — The biggest deal in the history of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) was signed in Riyadh yesterday. The SR26.25 billion joint venture agreement seeks to develop the Kingdom’s huge bauxite resources and to build and operate a “mine-to-metal” industry. Capitalizing on the Kingdom’s abundant energy reserves, the fully integrated project will include bauxite mining, alumina refining, a power plant and aluminum smelting.

The agreement was signed in Riyadh in the presence of Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi, president and CEO of Maaden Abdallah E. Dabbagh and Michel Jacques, president and CEO of Alcan Primary Metal Group.

“We are delighted to participate in this outstanding project,” said Dick Evans, president and chief executive officer of Alcan Inc., at the signing ceremony held near Maaden’s headquarters.

He said that the deal was consistent with Alcan’s primary metal strategy and that this project had the potential to achieve one of the lowest operating costs in the industry and to become one of the world’s largest smelters.

“This joint venture and our recently signed phosphate agreement with SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp.) represent notable milestones in Maaden’s vision of expanding the scope of mining and associated industries in the Kingdom,” said Dabbagh. “It makes mining the third pillar of Saudi industry, complementing Saudi Aramco and SABIC.”

Dabbagh said that this was the biggest deal in Saudi mining history and almost double the size of the previous record set with a SR13 billion phosphate deal recently signed with SABIC.

The agreement sets in motion one of the world’s largest vertically integrated projects of its kind. The initial phase includes the construction of a power plant delivering 1,400 megawatts, developing a 90-million-ton bauxite reserve located in Al-Zubeira in northern Saudi Arabia, building an alumina refinery with a capacity of 1.6 million tons per year and an aluminum smelter with a capacity of 720,000 tons per year.

The alumina plant, aluminum smelter and power generation facilities will be located in the new Minerals Industrial City at Ras Azzour on the east coast of the Kingdom. The first output of smelted metal is expected during the first quarter of 2011, and the first alumina processor a year later.

“We are carrying out the mandate we have had which had a very clear vision and detailed programs to explore for minerals in Saudi Arabia that would add value to the economy and provide jobs to Saudis,” said Dabbagh.

He said that diversification had been an important issue for the Kingdom for a long time. “This I think is the largest diversification in Saudi Arabia after the petrochemical industry,” he said. Asked whether he foresaw industries producing finished aluminum goods in the Kingdom, Dabbagh said: “We have already started talking about that.” He said he was looking forward to developing downstream industries together with Alcan within the Ras Azzour industrial city.

“This is already being planned and we have a large number of people from the Gulf and internationally who are interested in becoming partners in this,” he added.

This might have something to do with one of these. An article about this in today's Wall Street Journal said there would be an economic city developed nearby as part of this and another, nearby industrial project.

http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=208ccd1e-0f3a-4657-8735-386060ecc45f&k=52826

Saudi, Dow sign deal to build giant petrochemical plant
Andrew Hammond, Reuters
Published: Sunday, May 13, 2007
By Andrew Hammond

DHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and U.S. Dow Chemical Co. announced on Saturday a deal to build a petrochemical plant that industry insiders expect to be the largest foreign investment in Saudi Arabia's energy sector.

The cost of the Ras Tanura plastics and chemicals complex would be "mammoth," said Saudi Aramco's President Abdallah Jumah, although he declined to give details.

Earlier this week, industry sources said the plant would have an investment cost of at least $20 billion. Costs have risen with soaring inflation in the energy industry from an Aramco estimate last year of around $15 billion.

Ras Tanura will be one of the biggest plants of its kind built from scratch, the two companies said in a joint statement from Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran.

"When fully operational, the new complex will be one of the largest grassroots plastics and chemicals production facilities in the world and will be ideally positioned to serve major world markets," the statement said.

Aramco and Dow signed a memorandum of understanding and will now enter a final negotiation phase for the formation of a joint company to build, own and operate the plant, the statement said.

The companies plan to float a 30 percent stake in Ras Tanura and raise the rest through debt, Jumah told reporters.

The investment is Dow's largest in the region and its biggest joint venture, said Chief Executive Andrew Liveris.

"We have other investments in the Middle East... but nothing rivals the scale, size and breadth of this project. (It is) the largest proposed joint venture in our 110-year history."

Dow is the largest U.S. chemical maker by sales and has faced tough competition from Middle East chemical producers such as Saudi Arabia's SABIC <2010.SE> that have access to cheap crude and natural gas. SABIC is the world's largest chemicals company by market value.

SABIC, along with other companies, was invited to bid for Ras Tanura but was unsuccessful, Jumah said.

DIVERSIFYING SAUDI ECONOMY

The world's largest oil exporter Aramco chose Dow last July to discuss the plant, which Aramco will supply from the nearby 550,000 barrels per day Ras Tanura oil refinery and Ju'aymah gas processing plant.

The petrochemical plant was scheduled for startup in 2012-2013, Jumah said. It will produce 4.5 million metric tons of basic chemicals and 7 million metric tons per year of derivative plastic and chemical products, he added.

The derivative plastic is mainly poly carbonate and low and high density polyethylene, said Isam al-Bayyat, an Aramco vice president.

Like its Gulf Arab neighbors, Saudi Arabia is making major investments to diversify its economy away from oil.

Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week that a $70 billion investment program would make the kingdom the world's third largest petrochemical producer by 2015, up from its current ranking of tenth.

Saudi petrochemical output would rise to 100 million metric tons in 2015 from 60 million metric tons, and it would double the number of petrochemical products produced, Naimi said.

Aramco is also engaged in the PetroRabigh refining and petrochemicals joint venture project with Japan's Sumitomo Chemical. Jumah declined on Saturday to give an updated cost estimate for that project, last pegged at around $10 billion.

Aramco plans an IPO for at least 25 percent in PetroRabigh, but has yet to say when.

At the new Ras Tanura project, the key units are an ethane and naphtha cracker, a catalytic cracking unit and an aromatics unit. The units will help convert Saudi Arabia's heavy sour crude to high value plastics.

The project will feature more than 30 downstream process units, employ 4,000 workers and produce more than 300 different products. An industrial zone will be developed nearby, Jumah said.

^^ so many economic cities...but which city is the major one? Jizan ?

jizan for malysia

but king abdullah wconomic city is the majer one