Saudi Arabian Mining Co., has established a fertilizer terminal in the African state of Malawi through its subsidiary, the Meridian Group.
The Liwonde Terminal is located on the rail line connecting Malawi to the deep-sea port of Nacala in Zambia, allowing for easy distribution of Ma’aden’s fertilizer products across central and southern Africa, the Riyadh-listed miner, which is 65 percent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, said in a statement on Monday.
The state-of-the-art terminal has an annual bagging capacity of 10 million, and a total production capacity of 360,000 MT per year. The terminal is equipped with a cloud-based logistics supply chain management system and an advanced on-site laboratory for rapid and accurate fertilizer testing.
The terminal will make available a steady supply of fertilizer to over five million small-hold farmers in Malawi and Zambia and “complement Ma’aden’s strategic initiatives in Africa, including its acquisition of Meridian Group in 2019.”
Ma’aden’s mine-to-market fertilizer business consists of three production plants in Saudi Arabia, including Wa’ad Al Shamal Industrial Minerals City, Ras Al Khair Industrial City and the Phosphate 3 expansion.
The $8 billion Waad Al Shamal fertilizer production complex includes seven plants and associated facilities, making it one of the largest phosphate production complexes in the world, according to its website.