Ar-Ruwais is a town located some 240 km west of Abu Dhabi City, in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Al in the Arabic name Al Ruwais is largely dropped in relation to the Ruwais Refinery and other industrial development. The Ruwais industrial and housing complex has been developed by ADNOC as a major contributor to the national economy and represents a series of multimillion-dollar investments by the company. Once a small fishing headland from which a handful of people scratched a seasonal living, Ruwais today is one of the most modern industrial complexes in the Middle East. In the 1970s, plans were laid to transform a remote desert site into a self-contained industrial town, geared to fulfilling the downstream requirements of Abu Dhabi's booming oil and gas industry. Centered on Takreer's Ruwais Refinery, the complex was officially inaugurated in 1982 by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the visionary behind Abu Dhabi's remarkable development and prosperity. In addition to the original 120,000 barrels -per-day refinery, which was expanded in 1985 with the commissioning of a 27,000 bbl/d hydro cracker complex, major facilities at Ruwais include a natural gas liquids fractionation plant operated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd , a fertilizer plant run by Ruwais Fertilizer Industries , a Petrochemical Complex by Abu Dhabi National Polymers Company , a marine terminal and a sulfur handling terminal. Ruwais has also been developed into a model 'new town' with an evolving population. The Ruwais Housing Complex, covering an area of 6 square kilometres , is located 10 kilometres away from the industrial plants. The complex has its own shops, schools, banks, mosques, clinic and hospital, and a wide range of sporting and leisure amenities including a beach club and an 'in-house' TV station. Although originally designed to house the workers who support the oil and gas industry, Ruwais has grown to include other government workers of nearby projects, such as Barakah Nuclear Power Plant.
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