Dubai: The ARY Aurum Plus group's new Dubai gold refinery is expected to start operation in the fourth quarter of 2007, with plans to expand production from 25 tonnes a year to 100 tonnes by 2011, the group said yesterday.
Specialised in gold refining and marketing of gold and diamond jewellery, the group also aims to build a diamond division at its new facility and establish an institute to qualify people to enter into the diamond trade.
"ARY Aurum Plus will be more than just a refinery. It will include fabrication and manufacturing facilities," Ayman Shahin, head of ARY's treasury, said.
"We are building a refinery with the capacity of 100 metric tonnes and the goal is to achieve this capacity in four years," he said.
Dubai has two major gold refiners - Emirates Gold and the smaller Al Ghurair Giga Gold. Another two plants are being built, the one by ARY and the other by conglomerate Al Gairth, which is expected to come on stream in 2007.
Gold's allure as an investment tool and luxury item seems to be showing no sign of waning in the Gulf region.
Dubai's goal is to become one of the major trading centres for gold along with London, New York and Hong Kong, capitalising on its proximity to the world's biggest gold consumer, India.
The ARY group plans to increase its commitment to the manufacturing part of the business, especially gold jewellery.
"The fabrication and manufacturing industry in Dubai is growing rapidly and one of our ideas is to have to have many types of jewellery manufactured and fabricated in Dubai," Shahin said.
"Dubai is a consuming market, a hub, and we can refine at a more competitive cost structure than Europe," he added.
Dubai's refiners are based in the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre, a free zone authority with a 50-year tax holiday.
