MANAMA: Alba, the Bahrain-based aluminium manufacturer, has moved one step closer to becoming the world’s largest smelter.
The company announced its Line 6 Expansion Project has gained further momentum with the handover of 172 pots for commissioning at the start of this month.
Commenting, Alba’s chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, said: “We are pleased to announce that Potline 6 is now in full ramp-up mode with the handover of the next set of 172 pots for commissioning.
“Once the start-up of the additional 172 pots is complete, Alba will have commissioned a total of 212 pots (50 per cent of potline 6 capacity).”
The chairman said the additional capacity would bring positive financial benefits to the bottom-line.
With a capital expenditure of approximately $3 billion, the Line 6 Expansion Project involves the construction of a sixth pot line using EGA’s proprietary DX+ Ultra Technology, a 1,792 MW Power Station (Power Station 5) utilising the world’s first H-class General Electric (GE) 9HA Gas Turbine (GT) and other industrial services.
Upon completion, the project will boost Alba’s per-annum production by 540,000 metric tonnes (MT), taking total production capacity to 1.5 million MT per year.
As of end-January, the project’s overall progress was at 83.5pc (engineering having progressed by more than 98pc while contracts and procurement advanced by 98pc); whereas progress on the power station and power distribution system exceeded 85pc and over 97pc respectively.
The first hot metal from potline 6 was achieved on December 13 last year.
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