Boosting the country’s mining infrastructure, Saudi Arabia has unveiled a SAR 86 billion ($35.6bn) project, Wa’ad Al Shamal, a new integrated industrial city near Turaif in the Northern Borders Province.
Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil-producing company, will be investing SAR 10bn ($4.1bn) to supply competitively priced energy required to develop a project that was unveiled by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Thursday.
Also known as ‘Northern Promise’, the development is expected to become a major mining hub in the region while furthering economy and creating thousands of jobs.
“The Northern Promise can be a prime catalyst in creating transformational industries that can generate more growth and more value from niche manufacturing sectors such as manufacturing glass, glass fibres, plastics and solar panels,” said Saudi Aramco’s president and chief executive Amin Nasser.
It is estimated that Wa’ad Al Shamal will generate SAR 24bn ($9.9bn) from non-oil sectors and contribute nearly 3 per cent to the Kingdom’s gross domestic product. About 30,000 jobs are expected to be created for Saudi youth, especially those from the region. The 440 square kilometres development is already hosting phosphate processing facilities.
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“What we see now at Wa’ad Al Shamal city is the productive outcome of close collaboration between government sectors, agencies and leading national companies,” added Mr Nasser.
Supplying competitive gas feedstock to Wa’ad Al Shamal - around 1,000 kilometres from Saudi Arabia’s capital city Riyadh - was initially deemed as complex and costly due to its terrain and geography. However, Saudi Aramco came up with efficient solutions to explore and drill gas resources in the region, specifically unconventional gas.
Unconventional gas is natural gas extracted from sources of production that are, in a given location, considered to be new and different. Its production will replace the burning of hydrocarbons for electricity generation.
Saudi Aramco had commenced commercial production of unconventional gas in the North Arabia Field in May 2018, supplying approximately 55 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscfd) to a local power plant. The gas production will ramp up to 190 MMscfd towards the end of 2018 to meet customers’ needs.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), construction of Waad Al-Shamaal industrial city started in 2014. A 290 square kilometres area has been allocated to Waad Al-Shamaal city, in addition to an adjacent land of 150 square kilometres for Riyadh-headquartered Maaden Company to develop a phosphate industry, which is the core project of the city.
After the finishing of the second phase of the project in the coming months, the Kingdom's production of phosphate fertilisers will increase to 9 million tonnes annually, making it the second largest producer in the world, SPA said.
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Important questions to consider
1. Where on the plane does my pet travel?
There are different types of travel available for pets:
- Manifest cargo
- Excess luggage in the hold
- Excess luggage in the cabin
Each option is safe. The feasibility of each option is based on the size and breed of your pet, the airline they are traveling on and country they are travelling to.
2. What is the difference between my pet traveling as manifest cargo or as excess luggage?
If traveling as manifest cargo, your pet is traveling in the front hold of the plane and can travel with or without you being on the same plane. The cost of your pets travel is based on volumetric weight, in other words, the size of their travel crate.
If traveling as excess luggage, your pet will be in the rear hold of the plane and must be traveling under the ticket of a human passenger. The cost of your pets travel is based on the actual (combined) weight of your pet in their crate.
3. What happens when my pet arrives in the country they are traveling to?
As soon as the flight arrives, your pet will be taken from the plane straight to the airport terminal.
If your pet is traveling as excess luggage, they will taken to the oversized luggage area in the arrival hall. Once you clear passport control, you will be able to collect them at the same time as your normal luggage. As you exit the airport via the ‘something to declare’ customs channel you will be asked to present your pets travel paperwork to the customs official and / or the vet on duty.
If your pet is traveling as manifest cargo, they will be taken to the Animal Reception Centre. There, their documentation will be reviewed by the staff of the ARC to ensure all is in order. At the same time, relevant customs formalities will be completed by staff based at the arriving airport.
4. How long does the travel paperwork and other travel preparations take?
This depends entirely on the location that your pet is traveling to. Your pet relocation compnay will provide you with an accurate timeline of how long the relevant preparations will take and at what point in the process the various steps must be taken.
In some cases they can get your pet ‘travel ready’ in a few days. In others it can be up to six months or more.
5. What vaccinations does my pet need to travel?
Regardless of where your pet is traveling, they will need certain vaccinations. The exact vaccinations they need are entirely dependent on the location they are traveling to. The one vaccination that is mandatory for every country your pet may travel to is a rabies vaccination.
Other vaccinations may also be necessary. These will be advised to you as relevant. In every situation, it is essential to keep your vaccinations current and to not miss a due date, even by one day. To do so could severely hinder your pets travel plans.
Source: Pawsome Pets UAE
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