Emirates Global Aluminium on Friday announced the restart of production at its Al Taweelah alumina refinery in Abu Dhabi, three months after the facility was damaged in an Iranian drone attack.
Alumina production is expected to increase to 50 per cent of plant capacity "within days", EGA said in a statement.
EGA, one of the largest non-oil industrial conglomerates in the UAE, said it anticipated having the technical capability reach full alumina production by the end of this year. The company initially estimated the repairs would take up to a year to finish.
Al Taweelah alumina refinery produced 2.4 million tonnes of alumina in 2025 and met 46 per cent of EGA’s alumina needs. The product is the feedstock for aluminium smelters.
“First alumina production from Al Taweelah alumina refinery is another big milestone in our journey to restore EGA’s Al Taweelah site to its position as one of the most important aluminium production complexes in the world," said chief executive Abdulnasser bin Kalban.
EGA's plant was among the critical infrastructure sites struck as Iran launched attacks across the Gulf. The production unit at Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi was hit on March 28, sustaining “significant damage”.
The site, including the smelter and cast house, power plant, alumina refinery and recycling plant, was fully evacuated and its centres entered emergency shutdown, the company said in a statement on April 3. Two people were injured in the attack.
On April 12, the company declared force majeure for certain products owing to the shutdown and said it was doing everything it could to support its customers “during this difficult period”. Force majeure clauses allow suppliers to suspend contractual obligations without penalty when events beyond their control prevent delivery.
"The timing of further production ramp-up at Al Taweelah alumina refinery will be based on supply chain dynamics and the optimisation of EGA’s alumina sourcing strategy," the company said on Friday.
EGA did not provide estimates for the repair costs. Chief financial officer Pal Kildemo told The National last week that further financial details would be revealed in the company's first-half earnings report in August. EGA has enough cash on the balance sheet as it had already refinanced its credit facilities. Capital expenditure this year will be higher than estimated, but EGA does not expect a significant impact on earnings.
In June, EGA also launched Al Taweelah aluminium recycling plant – the biggest in the UAE. The site began producing recycled aluminium in February, but final commissioning work was put on hold after the March 28 strike on Kezad.
The plant has a production capacity of 185,000 tonnes per year. It processes post-consumer aluminium scrap and some pre-consumer aluminium scrap, into low-carbon, high-quality "premium aluminium" billets and T-bars, marketed by EGA under the product name RevivAL.
EGA accounts for about 4 per cent of the world's aluminium production and is the first in the UAE to sell its own industrial technology internationally, its website says. It serves more than 400 customers in more than 50 countries.
In January, EGA signed a joint development agreement with Century Aluminium to build the first new primary production plant for the metal in the US in four and half decades. EGA will own 60 per cent of the joint venture.
