EGA enters final stages of commissioning for Al Taweelah alumina refinery

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) has reportedly entered the final stages of commissioning for its Al Taweelah refinery. The first alumina production at the plant is expected to be in the first half of this year.

Abdulla Kalban, managing director and chief executive of EGA said in a statement on Monday: “We are making good progress with the complex process of commissioning the refinery.”

He also said, “We are looking forward to beginning production and ramping up this project, which, along with our Guinea mine, will transform EGA into an integrated global aluminium producer.”

Commissioning is a detailed process of testing equipment and systems in a new plant before start-up.

In December, EGA had announced the completion of commissioning process of the calcination section of its alumina refinery at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi. This involved a carefully-planned process of testing equipment and systems in a new plant before start-up. Al Taweelah alumina refinery contains some 9,500 instruments, 222 tanks and a long stretch of piping and cabling.  The calcination section contains more than 1,700 instruments and over 100 motors.

The projected cost to set up Al Taweelah refinery is around US$3.3 billion. It will be the first alumina refinery in the UAE and second in the Middle East that plans to meet 40 per cent of EGA’s alumina requirements, replacing some imports and creating new revenue streams.  

Earlier in January, EGA’s nearby Al Taweelah power plant started delivering steam to the new refinery through connecting pipelines, further paving the way for the plant’s launch.