His Highness the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khlaifa will unveil a monument at Aluminium Bahrain tomorrow to mark the official inauguration of the smelter’s Line 5 expansion project.
HH Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa is widely recognised as a major driving force behind Bahrain’s industrial development and has played a pivotal role in the Kingdom’s strategic industrial diversification programme. The inauguration ceremony, being hosted under HH the Prime Minister’s patronage, concludes Bahrain’s largest expansion project ever and makes the Kingdom home to the largest modern aluminium smelter in the world.
The announcement was made during a press conference hosted by the Alba Acting Chief Executive, Ahmed Saleh Al Noaimi and the Alba Deputy Chief Executive – Plant Operations, Mahmood Al Daylami at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.
“The fact that HH the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, has graciously agreed to patronise the inauguration ceremony is testimony to his commitment to supporting the development of Bahrain’s industries,” said Al Noaimi. “It is another example of HH the Prime Minister’s efforts towards the constant development of the Kingdom,” he said.
“Alba’s US$ 1.7 billion Line 5 expansion project set new world standards on several fronts,” said Al Noaimi. “The project involved the construction and subsequent commissioning of the world’s longest reduction line. Furthermore, the construction,
considered the largest of its kind ever witnessed in the Kingdom, was completed in record time and set new international safety standards for the world to follow,” he said.
“We are honoured to have HH the Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa patronizing the inauguration ceremony,” said Al Daylami. “This, I believe, sends a clear message to the world that Bahrain and its leadership is firmly committed to developing its industrial base,” he said.
“The Line 5 expansion project has increased Alba’s annual production capacity to more than 840,000 metric tonnes to make it the largest modern smelter in the world. The achievement was made all the more significant when we commissioned the reduction line in 77 days without a single injury to set a new world record that was once thought impossible,” said Al Daylami. “This, in turn, has earned Bahrain international praise and recognition for its industrial excellence and established Alba as the world’s new aluminium superpower,” he said.
An estimated 400 dignitaries from across the world – including the world’s industrial kingpins, senior Bahrain Government officials, members of the Bahrain Parliament and members of the diplomatic corps – are expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.
Alba - Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C (c) - is a 830,000 tonne per annum aluminium smelter. As well as its reduction lines and casthouses, the company has a dedicated carbon department and a 1500MW power plant. A 450,000 tonnes per annum coke calcining plant is also in operation at the company's marine terminal. The company was officially opened in 1971 and its shareholders today are the Government of Bahrain (77%), SABIC Industrial Investments (20%) and Breton Investments (3%). The entire plant operates to the Environmental Management System standard ISO14001 and the Casthouses and Marketing are also operating to the ISO 9002 Quality Management System. The company has won a number of awards including the inaugural Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Award for Industrial Excellence, the International Millennium Business Award for Environmental Achievement and a GCC-wide award for Human Resources Development and nationalisation of the workforce.
