EMIRATES Aluminium (Emal), a joint venture between Mubadala and Dubai Aluminium, said the work on its Phase 2 expansion project is more than 70 per cent complete and on track to meet its December 2013 deadline.

The early works on the estimated $4.5 billion Phase 2 expansion began in 2011, making Emal one of the largest industrial projects in the UAE outside oil and gas and one of the key projects leading to the diversification of the UAE’s economy.

Commenting on the latest developments, Emal’s VP (projects), Yousuf Bastaki, said co-operation with Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC) helped ensure that the Emirati company’s expansion into one of the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelters is on target.

“One of the reasons for this success is the partnership we have developed with ADPC, which has enabled the smooth and efficient transportation of the vital equipment needed to build one of the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelters,” he noted.

“Such local partnerships highlight the unity that exists within the UAE to deliver world-leading projects which will provide the foundation for our future economic prosperity,” he added.

Almost half of the containers of vital equipment had been unloaded and delivered to the Emal Al Taweelah complex in the six months prior to February 2013.