EGA to construct $3bn alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi
Increased production capacities are a result of good project management, company CEO says.
Newly-formed Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has greatly benefited from intelligent project management practices, according to Abdulla Kalban, the firm’s managing director and CEO.
Mubadala Development Corporation and Investment Corporation of Dubai had combined their respective aluminium industry holdings to form EGA, a jointly-owned conglomerate in the UAE. EGA rsquo;s core operating assets are Emirates Aluminium Company Limited PJSC (EMAL) and Dubai Aluminium PJSC (DUBAL).
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development had acquired a 50% stake in the Jebel Ali-based DUBAL in June 2013. At the time, Mubadala had claimed the acquisition was made to expand its market share.
Last week, Reuters reported EGA will construct an alumina refinery worth $3 billion in Abu Dhabi. Alumina, which is extracted from bauxite, is the primary ingredient needed for the production of aluminium.
The refinery, which will have a annual production capacity of 4 million tonnes, is expected to be constructed by 2017. Its operations are expected to strengthen EGA’s control over its supply chain and aluminium production.
“We are building the refinery to secure our own important materials,” Kalban said at the time.
Speaking at the recently-concluded Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF) show in the city, Kalban said smartly planning the firm’s operations had helped increase the production capacities of DUBAL and EMAL, thus contributing to EGA’s overall performance since it was formed last year.
“In 1979, the fledgling DUBAL smelter had a production capacity of 135,000 tonnes per year. Today, DUBAL’s capacity is over 1 million tonnes,” Kalban said.
“EMAL, which was built between 2007 and mid-2014, has a capacity of more than 1.3 million tonnes. This gives EGA a production capacity of over 2.4 million tonnes per year, putting it firmly in the ranks of the world’s top four aluminium producers,” he explained. 
