Saudi mineral giant Ma’aden has signed three contracts worth a combined $922 million with foreign companies to develop a third phosphate fertiliser project.
The majority state-owned Saudi mining company announced the agreements in a note to the Saudi bourse on Thursday, coinciding with the final day of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh.
Ma’aden is already responsible for around a fifth of global phosphate trade and is majority-owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF.
Saudi Arabia possesses good-quality phosphate rock, while state backing for the sector’s development – a major part of the kingdom’s economic diversification plans – provides financing.
The first of the deals announced was for unspecified construction work at Ras Al Khair, a port town under development in the Eastern Province, signed with China National Chemical Engineering Company for approximately $325 million, according to the filing.
The kingdom hopes it will be completed in the next decade and attract 100,000 direct and indirect jobs based around the development and export of minerals.
The second of the deals for construction work in Wa’ad Al Shamal was signed with the Chinese company Sinopec Nanjing Engineering and Construction for about $363 million. The first phase of Wa’ad Al Shamal, near the Jordanian border, was inaugurated in 2018.
The third contract was signed with the Turkish company Tekfen Construction and Installation for approximately $234 million, also for construction work in Wa’ad Al Shamal.
Ma’aden’s Phosphate 3 is centered in Wa’ad Al Shamal. In November 2016, the company said the mega-complex would add 3 million tonnes per year of phosphate production capacity. It estimated costs at the time at SAR24 billion ($6.4 billion) and was initially scheduled to reach full capacity by 2024
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