Alcan gives $100 mln contract for S.Africa smelter

Aluminum producer Alcan Inc. (AL.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said it signed an over $100 million contract with a joint venture to build the first phase of its proposed aluminum smelter in South Africa. The contract with the joint venture, consisting of SNC-Lavalin (SNC.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), Murray & Roberts (MURJ.J: Quote, Profile, Research) and Hatch, is for the front-end engineering design and management of the 360,000-tonnes per year smelter in Coega. The second phase of the project, currently under development that would bring Aluminum production to an estimated 720,000-tonne per year, is also included in the contract, SNC-Lavalin said in a separate release.