Emal seeks partners to forge growth in Abu Dhabi

Emirates Aluminium (Emal) is in talks with two more metal processors interested in building facilities alongside its $10.2 billion plant in Abu Dhabi.

Emirates Aluminium (Emal) is in talks with two other metal processors interested in building facilities alongside its US$10.2 billion (Dh37.46bn) plant in Abu Dhabi.

It comes as the aluminium project increases production to almost 800,000 tonnes in its first phase and prepares to add 1,000 jobs over the next year.

"We are encouraging downstream industries to set up around Emal, and we have already committed with two companies and are in negotiations with another two," said Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei, the chief executive.

The plant will also be able to supply molten aluminium to processors based around the site, reducing the cost of transporting the metal in solid ingots and billets that have to be remelted.

Emal is on track to boost first-phase production capacity by almost 50,000 tonnes by the end of the year after using energy-saving technology developed at Dubai Aluminium to produce the metal at a lower cost.

Emal is a joint venture between Dubai Aluminium and Mubadala Development, a strategic company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government. It is building the world's largest single-site smelter at a 6-square-kilometre location at the Khalifa Industrial Zone in Taweelah, between the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

About $5.7bn was invested in the first phase of the project, with $4.5bn spent on the second phase, putting the country among the world's top aluminium producers. The second phase of the project is expected to completed by 2014.

Global industry chiefs will gather in the capital tomorrow for the World Aluminium Conference, which producers including Rio Tinto and Novelis will attend.

The global aluminium industry is emerging from an inventory glut that has depressed prices and forced some producers to cut production. Alcoa, the largest producer in the United States, last month raised its global growth forecast in several sectors including the aerospace and automotive industries.

Gulf states have invested heavily in aluminium production to leverage their access to cheap gas to produce the power that forms one of the largest costs in making the metal.

Investment from global players has also been encouraged - most notable being Alcoa's venture with Maaden in Saudi Arabia.

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