Alba becomes the largest aluminium smelter in ex-China world with the inauguration of Line 6

With the inauguration of Line 6 Expansion Project on Sunday 24 November 2019, Bahrain-based Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) has become the largest aluminium smelter in ex-China world. The potline was inaugurated by King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa the King of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Supreme Commander were also present during the occasion.

Potline 6 will increase Alba’s annual production by 540,000 tonnes bringing the total production capacity to 1.54 million tpy making it the world’s largest aluminium smelter ex-China.

On this milestone, Alba’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Shaikh Daij bin Salman bin Daij Al Khalifa stated:

“With Line 6 fully on stream, we look forward to continue working with our partners in the downstream cluster and further contribute to the economic diversification of the Kingdom in addition to boosting our presence globally.”

Abdulla Jasim bin Kalban, MD and CEO of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), said:

“The inauguration of Alba’s Line 6 is a landmark both for our industry and for the development of a regional knowledge-based economy. We are proud that Alba selected EGA’s technology, developed in the UAE, for Line 6 and that EGA technologists had the opportunity to work closely with Bahraini colleagues on the construction, commissioning and start-up of the project.”

Brendan P. Bechtel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Bechtel also applauded Alba on the occasion for achieving first hot metal six months faster than the industry average and delivering the project with a better cost and with excellent safety performance. It was achieved on 13 December 2018.

Mahmoud Hanafy, Senior Vice President, Transmission Solutions, Siemens Middle East called the inauguration an important milestone in the Project and their longstanding partnership with Alba.

As one of the largest brownfield projects in the Region, Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project have reached a number of achievements including 16% savings of its allotted budget, which were used for procuring raw material and financing other works related to Line 6 project.

In addition, Line 6 Expansion Project has set benchmarks in sustainable aluminium production with both Potline 6 and Power Station 5 (PS 5). The Line 6 Expansion Project also supported Alba’s strong Safety benchmarks.

Alba attributed the success of Line 6 Expansion Project to its 3,200-plus employees, its strong Health, Safety and Environment Management System and its collaboration with Bechtel, GE, GAMA Consortium and Siemens. It also thanked its all other contractors especially Bahraini companies.