The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) has awarded a SR3.35bn ($892m) engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to South Korea’s Daelim to build the first plant in the kingdom’s third large-scale phosphate complex (Phosphate 3).

Upon completion of the Phosphate 3 development, Ma’aden will have increased its capacity to supply phosphate fertiliser to global markets by 3 million tonnes a year. The complex will increase Ma’aden’s phosphate production capacity to 9 million tonnes.

Daelim Industrial and the local Saudi Daelim will jointly carry out the EPC work for the first 1.1 million tonne a year ammonia plant, which will be constructed over a period of 38 months.

The overall phosphate 3 development is expected to cost $6.4bn, and the project is planned to generate non-oil GDP growth of $6.7bn and create about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs.