Dubal denies suspending its Saudi Arabian smelter

(MENAFN) Vice-President Marketing and Sales of Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal) denied the recent media reports saying that Dubal's Saudi Arabian smelter in King Abdullah Economic City is either cancelled or suspended, Emirates Business 24-7. He said that the project is still on the table and the pre-feasibility and potential downstream industry studies have been completed, adding that the region is going to emerge as a major player in the production of aluminum. Commenting on his previous remark about the project being uncertain, he said that under the prevailing economic conditions, which has had an impact on all industrial sectors, it stands to reason that investors in big projects would be monitoring global trends before making further time-bound commitments. He added that the Saudi Arabian smelter is expected to have an initial production capacity of 700,000 metric tons per year, complemented by a purpose-built power utility capable of providing a guaranteed, uninterrupted long-term supply of the power required to properly and fully operate the proposed smelter. It is worth mentioning that Dubal and Mubadala Development Company signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia) and Emaar Economic City regarding the green-field development of the $5 billion as well as aluminum smelter complex, to be managed by Emal International. source：www.menafn.com