Dubal raises capacity of Jebel Ali plant

Dubai: State-owned Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (Dubal) has consolidated its status as the seventh largest aluminium smelter in the world by raising the production capacity of its Jebel Ali plant to 950,000 metric tonnes per annum (mtpa).

This follows the commissioning of the second phase of the company's latest expansion project, which entailed a 32-pot, 22,000 mtpa extension of Potline 5, completed in July 2007; and a 40-pot, 40,000 mtpa extension of Potline 6.

The combined expansion project, completed at a cost of $236 million, has brought the number of electrolytic aluminium reduction cells in the plant infrastructure to 1,557 pots, arranged in eight potlines.

Construction of this latest two-phased expansion project began in June 2006. A remarkable safety record of more than 7 million man-hours worked without any lost time injuries was achieved over the 20-month period. This is no mean feat, considering that more than 3,000 workers were on site at the peak of the construction phase.

Naturally, the increased capacity of the plant will contribute substantially to the turnover and profitability of Dubal, to the future benefit of the economy of Dubai. Already, the economy has benefited from the $135.7 million spend on local suppliers during the course of the project, which equates to 58 per cent of the total budget against a targeted spend of 40 per cent. A team of 30 Dubal employees worked on the Potline 6b expansion project, the majority from the operations (86.7 per cent) with the remainder representing the technology development department.

A number of UAE nationals at senior level served on the project team, notably Abdullah Al Zarouni, senior process engineer; Ali Yousuf Darwish, operations engineer, and Aisha Al Marzouqi, assistant development engineer, from technology development; and Yousuf Ahli, graduate trainee, from operations.

"Dubal's additional production volume provides scope for the company to expand its customer base and grow its sales revenue," comments Dubal CEO Abdullah Kalban. "Accordingly, we're looking forward to another record-breaking year in 2008."