Norton Rose advisor for Alba expansion

London-based Norton Rose has been appointed by Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) as international legal adviser on the $1.5 billion financing of its Line 5 expansion project, set to be the largest financing in Bahrain and will result in the company becoming one of the world's largest aluminium producers.

The total project budget is $1.7 billion and will include a fifth reduction potline of over 300,000 tonnes bringing the Alba plant's total capacity to over 800,000 tonnes, Ahmed Al Nuaimi, Alba general manager, finance, told Gulf News yesterday.

The company will also construct a power plant of 640MW capacity, a new carbon plant, new casting facilities and upgrades to existing facilities.

Alba is "currently in the market" evaluating the prospects, and the financing bids will be received by mid-October, he added. The rest of the project cost, $200 million, will be paid by the company's shareholders.

Line 5 expansion follows Alba's successful implementation of a series of previous expansions of both its reduction lines and power facilities, Norton Rose, which will advise on the financing documents, said in a statement that was sent to Gulf News yesterday.

Norton Rose projects' partner, Tom Day, said: "It is anticipated that the financing will be multi-sourced, raised from a syndicate of local and international lenders and financial institutions and integrating conventional and Islamic financing.

The final financing mix may also include a capital markets tranche. This is an important project for Alba and we are delighted to be working with them on this significant step forward. The complex and innovative nature of the financing will make this a particularly interesting project for us."

Norton Rose noted that the financing comes in the wake of recent boosts to Bahrain's global economics ratings.