Jan 08, 2015
Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) represented by the Ma’aden Infrastructure Company, signed an EPC contract for the residential infrastructure at the King Abdullah Project for Wa’ad Al Shamal City Development. The contract was awarded to Al-Rashid Trading and Contracting Co. Ltd. Al-Rashid Co. will conduct engineering, procurement, and construction for the first phase of residential area of the city.
In the North of the Kingdom, Wa’ad Al-Shamal City will cover an area of 440 km squared, of which 150 sq kilometres will entail a SAR 28 billion world class phosphate facility jointly developed by Ma’aden, SABIC and Mosaic. This world class facility will have a production capacity of 16,000 tonnes of phosphate products and begins operation in late 2016.
The contract includes the engineering, design and works supervision and construction for major roads, public facilities, water and telecommunications networks, fire stations and the first phase of residential complexes containing 70 villas, 189 apartments and 232 Studio Dormitories. Al Rashid Co. will begin work on the project in the first quarter of 2015 with a plan to complete the project by the end of 2016.
Ma’aden President and CEO Khalid Al Mudaifer said “This contract is an important milestone in the development of Wa’ad Al Shamal City. Together with our partners, we are building a City that will elevate the living standards of people in the north and open up new economic opportunities for local Saudi youth and businesses, in accordance with the vision of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz. As with all of our projects, we are committed to maximizing the social and economic benefits for local communities while advancing the economy of the Kingdom as a whole.”
Commenting on the progress of construction at Wa’ad Al Shamal, Ma’aden Senior Vice President Majid Al Mugla confirmed that Ma’aden will work to complete the remaining projects for the residential part of Wa’ad Al Shamal which include educational facilities, mosques, a community center, commercial building and a fire and civil defense station. He also stated that the construction of the phosphate industrial facilities at Wa’ad Al Shamal are progressing on schedule.
Mr. Abdullah bin Saad Al-Rashid, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Abdullah Saad Al-Rashed Bros., expressed his delight that the Al Rashid Company can now add this national project to his company’s existing track record of implementing key strategic projects in the public and private sectors. He explained that Al Rashid Co. is keen to partner with Ma’aden in order to train national talent to assume leadership positions in the field of construction. He also confirmed that his company is able to meet Ma’aden’s strict requirements to hire locally and to deliver opportunities to local small and medium sized business.