High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Al Ruwais is a town located some 240 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi city. The Ruwais industrial and housing complex has been developed by ADNOC as a major contributor to the national economy and represents a series of multi-million-dollar investments by the company. The Ruwais story began in the 1970s, when 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 around 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. 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 addition to the original 120,000 barrels (19,000 m3)-per-day refinery, which was expanded in 1985 with the commissioning of a 27,000 bbl/d (4,300 m3/d) hydro cracker complex, major facilities at Ruwais include a natural gas liquids fractionation plant operated by Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO), a fertilizer plant run by Ruwais Fertilizer Industries (FERTIL), a marine terminal and a sulfur handling terminal. Industry needs people and so Ruwais has also been developed into a model `new town` with a population of several thousand. The Ruwais Housing Complex, covering an area of six square kilometers, is located 10 kilometers away from the industrial plants. In line with ADNOC`S policy of offering staff and their families all modem amenities, comfortable air-conditioned housing units are set in beautifully landscaped grounds. 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 and video station.