EGA restarts Al Taweelah alumina refinery after March suspension

Production is expected to reach 50% of capacity within days after the restart

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Dubai: Emirates Global Aluminium has restarted alumina production at its Al Taweelah refinery in Abu Dhabi, more than three months after operations were suspended following Iranian attacks on Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.

Production is expected to reach 50% of the plant’s capacity within days, while EGA expects to have the technical capability to return the refinery to full output by the end of 2026.

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The timing of any further increase will depend on supply chain conditions and the company’s alumina sourcing strategy.

EGA said the continuing ramp-up of aluminium production at the neighbouring Al Taweelah smelter does not depend on the refinery returning to full capacity.

Refinery supplied 46% of EGA’s needs

Al Taweelah alumina refinery produced 2.4 million tonnes in 2025, meeting 46% of EGA’s alumina requirements. Alumina is the main feedstock used by aluminium smelters.

“First alumina production from Al Taweelah alumina refinery is another big milestone in our long journey to restore EGA’s Al Taweelah site to its position as one of the most important aluminium production complexes in the world," said Abdulnasser Bin Kalban, CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium. "The dedication and agility of the team at Al Taweelah alumina refinery has enabled us to reach this milestone safely and quickly.”

Production suspended in March

Operations at the refinery were suspended on March 28 following Iranian attacks on Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi.

The plant resumed production of hydrate, the precursor used to make alumina, on June 24 before restarting alumina output.

The refinery is located beside EGA’s Al Taweelah smelter, with alumina moved into storage and then transferred to the smelter through a conveyor belt system.

Al Taweelah alumina refinery began production in 2019.

Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.

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