The ministers of finance, commerce and industry, water and electricity, and labor have emphasized the importance of the newly planned ‘Waad' Mining City in the Northern Border region and pledged all-out support to make it a reality. Speaking to Al-Jazirah Arabic daily, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf said the city would contribute to the Kingdom's efforts to diversify resources and boost the national economy. “We'll support this project by allocating the money required for its infrastructure facilities,” Al-Assaf said. Minister of Water and Electricity Abdulah Bin Abdulrahman Al-Hussayen said his ministry would support the new city by providing it with a high voltage power network backed by transformers. “We will also make optimum use of groundwater to meet residential and industrial water requirements,” he added. Minster of Labor Adel Fakieh said his ministry would work with the Ministry of Petroleum and Minerals and Maaden Company to meet the city's manpower requirements by training Saudis to take up important positions there. Minister of Commerce and Industry Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabeah said the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) would design the new city and its residential and commercial areas. “We'll make every effort for the successful implementation of this vital project.” The Waad Mining City, to be located northeast of Turaif, will attract an initial investment of SR26 billion.
