Reuters reported King Salman will inaugurate on Thursday the US$22.7 billion Waad Al Shamaal project which is set to span 440km2 for mining industries.
Global engineering, construction, and project management company Bechtel said it was managing the creation of Waad Al Shamaal city and an associated mining complex, together known as the King Abdullah program, for Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma'aden).
It said construction began in 2013 and included community buildings, a retail and office area, 40km of roads and 1,000 residential units, with Bechtel overseeing consultants planning other facilities including schools, hotels and shopping malls.
"Before long, a remote Saudi plateau just below the border with Jordan will be transformed into an industrial city of a hundred-thousand people and the facilities and infrastructure to make its industries hum," Bechtel said.
Ma'aden said in 2016 it was launching a feasibility study to define a third world-class phosphate project to be based in the Wa'ad Al Shamal area.
"This latest project will be phased in by 2024 and timed to best serve growing global fertiliser demand," Ma'aden has said.
Saudi's energy ministry estimates the kingdom's unused mineral resources to be valued at 5 trillion riyals (US$1.3 trillion), Reuters reported.
