GCC aluminium production rises to 5m tns annually
Current combined production capacity is just under 3.6 million tonnes
The total of production capacity of aluminium smelters in the GCC region is expected to reach nearly five million tonnes per year by 2013, upon the completion of Saudi Arabia’s Ma’aden Smelter, according to the Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC).
Currently, five smelters exist in the GCC with a combined production capacity of just under 3.6 million tonnes, and their cumulative contribution to total global production in 2010 was estimated at 7%, the GAC report said.
The UAE, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar are already home to some of the largest smelters in the world.
The production capacity of the region is divided among Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) with 880,000 tonnes, Dubai Aluminium with 1,002 million tonnes.
Oman’s Sohar Aluminium has a capacity of 370,000 tonnes, Qatar Aluminium rolls out 600,000 tonnes, while Emirates Aluminium puts out 750,000 tonnes. Finally, Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) puts out 740,000 tonnes, the report added.
