EMAL Aluminium Plant in Capital Begins Production

ABU DHABI — Abu Dhabi joined the big league of aluminium producers on Tuesday, as the $5.7 billion Emirates Aluminium, or EMAL project, energised the first of 756 pots, ahead of schedule to celebrate the 38th National Day. The energising of the first pot means that the world’s largest single site aluminium smelter complex has now officially started producing metal. However, the project is 75 per cent complete, as remaining 755 pots will go into production in the coming 12-14 months. EMAL is a joint venture between Dubai Aluminium Company Limited, or Dubal, and Mubadala Development Company, or Mubadala, and was established in February 2007. The project will be built in two phases and utilise Dubal DX technology. At the end of phase one in 2010, the smelter will produce 756,000 metric tonnes of aluminium per annum, to be doubled at the end of phase two. The industrial aluminium complex, a six square km site in the Khalifa Port Industrial Zone in Al Taweelah, half way between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will produce primary aluminium with a product mix of sow, standard ingot, tee ingot, extrusion billet and sheet ingot. The pot energised on Tuesday has a production capacity of three metric tonnes. Salman Dawood Abdulla, Chief Operating Officer of EMAL termed it a conservative start which is the beginning of a much larger roll out over the next 12-14 months as the remainder of the pots are energised. “This is a memorable day in the history. We have 755 pots left to energise, so our work is far from over, but today we began producing metal for the first time,” said the Chief Executive Officer of EMAL Duncan Hedditch. Original estimates indicated that the energising of the first pot in the smelter’s potroom would only take place in the first quarter of 2010, but exceeding those expectations had long been a goal of the EMAL construction teams. “We didn’t want to over-promise and under-deliver,” said Yousuf Bastaki, Project Director.” This project has long been a cornerstone of the UAE’s diversification strategy, so it’s exciting that we can tie this milestone to a day of huge national pride.” Being the largest industrial project outside the oil and gas industry, the smelter will encourage economic diversification, creating downstream opportunities. This development will benefit the UAE economy, employing more than 17,000 local and international contractors/staff during construction and approximately 2,000 people direct employment during operations.