Aluminium Bahrain launches new marine terminal upgrades
New jetty extension and additional raw materials storage facilities inaugurated
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) has announced the opening of a new jetty extension and additional raw materials storage facilities at its marine terminal.
In a statement, Alba said that the extension was inaugurated by Alba’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa in the presence of CEO Ali Al Baqali and other senior officials at a key ceremony held in the company premises.
The event marked the completion of a master project that will upgrade the existing marine facility and boost its capacity to meet Alba’s increased production following the commissioning of Reduction Line 6, which increased overall output by more than 50%.
Shaikh Daij said: “Today marks an important milestone, not only for our marine terminal but also for Alba. With the seamless infrastructure of our marine operations, Alba will strengthen its competitiveness in the global Aluminium industry all the while support Bahrain Vision 2030.”
“This expansion marks our commitment to secure importing additional raw materials following the successful completion of Line 6 Expansion Project in 2019 which has made Alba the largest smelter in the world ex-China with a built-in production capacity of more than 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum.”
The project saw the North Jetty at Alba’s marine terminal extended by 24m to accommodate bigger ships such as the 60,000 tonnes Panamax Alumnia vessels, while also enabling it to receive more than 3 million metric tonnes of alumina per year.
Construction of the jetty extension project took place over a period of 2.5 years, and it was on par with the highest safety standards by achieving 1.6 million safe working hours without a single loss time injury.
Furthermore, the jetty has been equipped with the Dual-Purpose Vacuum Ship-Unloader, a state-of-the-art machine that will help with the faster discharge of raw materials. It will also allow Alba to gain additional days for routine maintenance work on site, the statement added.
In addition to the upgrade of the jetty, Alba’s Marine has also seen the construction of a new 50,000 tonnes alumina concrete storage silo, which brings the total alumina storage up to 3 silos onsite, with a total built-in capacity of 150,000 tonnes. A new truck loading station has also been built on top of the existing one at site.
Alba said that these upgrades to its marine terminal were essential for it continue performing at the top of its industry, while also meeting its additional requirements and support business operations around-the-clock.
