Dubai: Emirates Global Aluminium has commissioned the second phase of its expansion at the Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi, boosting production by more than 30,000 tonnes of hot metal a year. The work was done ahead of schedule at what is the UAE’s biggest industrial company.
The expansion adds 26 ‘reduction cells’ to Potline 2, which will raise the production output. EGA is adding further reduction cells to each of the three potlines at Al Taweelah, with the expansion to Potline 1 having started production in April. The expansion to Potline 3 is expected to start production later this year.
The full expansion of 66 new reduction cells will increase EGA’s production capacity by some 78,000 tonnes of hot metal per year. The work is running “ahead of schedule”, with the full project at 80 per cent completion.
EGA’s aluminium is the biggest UAE export after oil and gas, last year selling around 2.52 million tonnes of cast metal. It also supplies all the UAE’s primary aluminium needs, with sales supporting a domestic aluminium sector that "produces everything from car parts to electricity transmission cables". The aluminium sector as a whole is one of the UAE’s largest industries, accounting for 1.4 per cent of the economy and supporting 60,000 jobs.
