Plans for raising production capacity at Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal) by 150,000 tonnes per year (tpy) were announced recently at a regional aluminium conference. The smelter currently operates at the full capacity of 536,000 tpy, the level raised from 372,000 tpy following an expansion completed in March 2000.

"A replacement plan for units which are 20 years' old is on and after the completion of the plan, production will rise by 30 per cent," said Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance and Industry and chairman of Dubal.

The expansion cost is to be worked out. The Dubal board submitted the plan to the chairman only in early November, said the company vice chairman Mohammed Alabbar.

The official expected formal approval to come in 2002. Alabbar said the expansion was planned for "strategic reasons and for utilising every inch of the smelter".

Chief executive John Boardman said the expansion would be carried out in stages and existing technology would be ugraded at low cost.

Alabbar said Aluminium Bahrain and Dubal had increased GCC primary smelting capacity to more than 1 million tpy in 2000. Dubal supplies 70 products to some 250 customers in 44 countries with Japan receiving 20 per cent of the total sales. High volumes also go to Europe.

Dubal is the world's largest manufacturer of foundry alloy used mainly by the automobile industry as well as being a producer of extrusion billet and high-purity aluminium. Foundry alloy accounts for 40 per cent of Dubal's production.

A Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic) official has said the region had plans for at least four additional aluminium smelters.

Kuwait, planning a $1 billion alumina refinery on Bobyan Island, is said to be seeking stakes for the project from Alba and Dubal, both of whom have welcomed the project.

A feasibility study is in progress for an aluminium smelter in Jubail while Qatar and Oman also have plans for similar facilities. Production capacities at these plants would range between 250,000 to 260,000 tonnes.