This Day in History (1978): New ice plant in Ras Tanura

From the Dec. 6, 1978 edition of The Arabian Sun

A new 36,000-pound-per-day ice plant goes into service in Ras Tanura this week to bring total icemaking capacity there to 52,000 pounds per day.

There is a constant demand for ice here, even in the winter," says Rashid Shaifan, superintendent of Ras Tanura Industrial Utilities, explaining that the ice is used by maintenance crews who work in desert locations and need the ice to provide them with cool drinking water throughout the day.

The new ice plant is located next to the existing ice plant and across from the Najmah Commissary. It is housed in a two-story building with the ammonia-based ice-making machine located on the upper floor, feeding down to the bagging room and a 50,000-pound capacity refrigerated storage room on the ground floor.

Caption for top photo: Construction engineer Mike Costas inspect instrumentation of the cooling water circulation pumps at the new Ras Tanura ice plant.

Also on this day:

2006 — NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of water on the Red Planet

1999 — A&M Records and the Recording Industry Association of America sues the file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement

1998 — Hugo Chavez wins his bid for president of Venezuela

1977 — South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, but it is recognized by no other country

1973 — The U.S. House of Representatives votes to confirm Gerald Ford as vice president of the U.S.

1969 — A free Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Raceway, an 18-year-old is stabbed to death by Hells Angels working security

1933 — U.S. judge rules that James Joyce's "Ulysses" is not obscene

1897 — London becomes the first city to license taxi cabs

1884 — The Washington Monument is completed

1060 — Bela is crowned king of Hungary