Abu Dhabi plans aluminium value addition

 

 

For this purpose, Taweelah Extrusion Company, or Talex, has been set up to execute the project. The firm, jointly owned by Dubai Extrusion of Al Ghurair Group and Abu Dhabi Basic Industries, plans Dh735 million investment in the project to be set up at the Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi, or Kizad, in Taweelah.

 

 

Dubai Extrusion is already having a strong presence in the automobile industry for the last several years. Other end-products will include electrical and solar equipments, road furniture, architectural and industrial materials.

 

 

The development was announced on Wednesday when Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad) signed a long-term ground development lease agreement with Talex, which will run the production facility at Kizad's aluminium cluster, alongside Emirates Aluminium (Emal).

 

 

The agreement, which was signed by Khaled Salmeen, executive vice-president of Industrial Zones, ADPC, and Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, chairman of Talex, will allow the project "to go into commercial operations in the fourth quarter of 2013."

 

 

Salmeen said, "Talex will directly benefit from Emal, providing the aluminium in molten form via the innovative 'Hot Metal Road', allowing it to provide its customers with the highest quality automotive products and the opportunity to be competitive in the market place."

 

 

He said the company would procure more than one third or 50,000 metric tonne of the 175,000 metric tonnes per annum output of the 'Hot Metal Road', which will save up to several hundred million dirham in energy costs per year.

 

 

"This is a great example of the kind of diversification Kizad is looking to create which brings us one step closer to achieving the target set within Abu Dhabi's 2030 Economic Vision," Salmeen said.

 

 

"Hot Metal Road enables the transportation of aluminium from aluminium smelters to midstream and downstream manufacturers in molten form, considerably reducing costs and environmental impacts saving enough energy to power 160,000 homes," the executive vice-president of zone developer Abu Dhabi Ports Company, or ADPC, said.

 

 

Anchored by Emal's smelter, which is anticipated to be the largest single site smelter in the world, the production of downstream products within the agreement will be through vertical integration which provides seamless operations from upstream to downstream producers.

 

 

Majid Al Ghurair, chief executive of Al Ghurair Group of Companies said that construction will start in the second half of next year.