Wa’ad al-Shamal City

Wa’ad al-Shamal City is an integrated city for mining industries, located in the Northern Borders Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It spans an area of 440 km west of Turaif Governorate, about eighteen km from Turaif Domestic Airport, the nearest airport. The Council of Ministers approved the establishment of the city during the reign of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2012 at an approximate cost of SAR85 billion.

In 2018, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, inaugurated the first phase of Wa’ad al-Shamal City’s industrial projects, spanning an area of 290 km, and allocated 150 km of adjacent land to Ma'aden Phosphate Co. The project is a central pillar of Wa’ad al-Shamal City and its developments.

The first phase of the mining city was completed in a record-short time, pursuant to the highest international standards. Construction began in 2014, and the first phase was launched four years later. According to plans, the city will consist of: industrial infrastructure and social facilities to attract other manufacturing investments; a service area; an unconventional gas production center; an industrial zone; a residential city; and a mining institute. The city also contains infrastructure, including buildings of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), an integrated solar combined cycle power plant, and water stations and projects. Furthermore, the city is connected to three marine docks built and allocated to the city in Ras al-Khair Port on the Arabian Gulf Coast, a railway connecting it to Saudi Aramco's processing plant in Wasit, and to Ras al-Khair Industrial City.

The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones is responsible for managing and developing Wa’ad al-Shamal City in cooperation with the Public Investment Fund. After the completion of the second phase of the city, the Kingdom's production of phosphate fertilizer will rise to nine million t annually, making it the world’s second-largest producer of phosphate fertilizer. The Kingdom is home to 7 percent of global phosphate deposits, equivalent to an estimated 2.7 billion t.

Wa’ad al-Shamal City aims to reduce unemployment rates by creating 22,000 jobs, mostly for the local population, after honing their skills and abilities. During the first phase, under the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden), more than 2,640 Saudi young men received training and rehabilitation at Ma’aden’s facilities, 85 percent of whom were locals working for more than twenty contractors involved in the project. Another 450 were appointed as Ma'aden employees, 74 percent of whom are locals, occupying engineering, technical, and administrative jobs.