MANAMA: His Majesty King Hamad officially inaugurated Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project yesterday, which will increase the aluminium industry’s contribution to Bahrain’s annual GDP from 12 per cent to about 15pc.
This was revealed by Alba chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa in a statement delivered during the ceremony.
The chairman said with an investment of approximately $3 billion, a sixth potline has been added to the smelter, boosting Alba’s per-annum production by 540,000 tonnes, taking the total production capacity to 1.5 million tonnes per year.
The line, which is one of the longest in the world, consists of 424 pots spread over a distance of 1,400 metres.
The expansion has also made Bahrain the home of the world’s largest aluminium smelter outside China.
The project was commissioned on December 13 last year, ahead of the scheduled delivery date of January 1 this year, registering the fastest construction pace ever achieved in the industry.
It was officially completed on end-July this year.
The new smelter works using Emirates Gulf Aluminium’s proprietary DX+ Ultra Technology.
It is powered by a 1,800 MW Power Station (Power Station 5) utilising the world’s first H-class General Electric (GE) 9HA gas turbine (GT), and is considered one of the most efficient power plants around the world, with a production efficiency of 54pc in summer and 62pc in winter.
The power plant is the largest in Bahrain and has been implemented at the lowest possible cost, along with being one of the most environment friendly.
“We have been able to achieve significant savings of more than $370m of the budgeted spend on the project, which constitutes 16pc of the approved budget for the sixth smelter.
Part of the savings were used to develop Alba’s dedicated port for the import and handling of raw materials, in addition to financing of some other complementary projects,” added Shaikh Daij.
“We have been able to save millions of dollars for the company’s shareholders, and we have succeeded in accomplishing this vital project for the economy of the kingdom.”
Talking about safety, the chairman said it is an area of constant focus.
“In 2019, for example, Alba achieved a massive 12 million work hours without a single lost time injury, strengthening our reputation as one of the safest aluminium smelters in the world.”
The line 6 project, he said, achieved a safety rate of 43 million hours with the participation of 11,000 workers on site daily during the peak construction period.
Shaikh Daij said the project is “transformational” for the country as it has not only created around 500 permanent direct jobs in Alba and is set to boost the downstream cluster by creating indirectly a few thousand job opportunities, but also presents many co-investment opportunities through local and foreign investment.
The sector, he pointed out, was also among the largest employers of Bahrainis with nationals accounting for nearly 85pc of Alba’s employees.
He said the project has created jobs and incomes and also helped skill development in the country’s industrial sector.
“As many as 30 per cent of the project procurement and 20 per cent of the contracts were awarded to local Bahraini companies.”
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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