New $5.56b Saudi phosphate plant set for trial run

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The Maaden Phosphate Company has started a trial production run at its newly completed $5.56bn plant, 90km north of the industrial city of Jubail.

The plant, which was built as a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) – and has been built in two phases. The first phase of the project will give the plant the capacity to produce 2.9m tonnes of diammonium phosphate (DAP) for fertiliser when it comes on stream in late 2010.

The second phase will give the plant the capacity to produce six million tons of DAP – almost half of that produced globally in 2006. Maaden intends securing a 15-25% share of the $25bn world DAP market.