Dubai Aluminium’s (Dubal) Potline 7 expansion is running well within its budget of Dh748.7 million ($204 million), operations manager Abdullah Kalban has said.

Kalban also said the project was running far ahead of schedule. Groundbreaking for the expansion commenced in June 2004 with completion due in the last quarter of 2005.
  “Much of the arduous groundwork on the Potline 7 expansion site has already been completed, the civil works are well underway and the structural steel work is up,” said the official.
The expansion will add 75,000 tonnes per year (tpy) of primary aluminium and increase total capacity to 761,000 tpy. Potline 7 will consist of 120 pots, a main electrical substation, a fume treatment plant and a 10,000-tonne coke silo. Some modifications to the carbon area will also take place to cope with the increased production of aluminium.
Management of the project has been entrusted to SNC Lavalin Europe BV.
“The Potline-7 expansion will garner Dubal even greater international recognition and serve to further elevate the UAE’s standing as a whole,” said Kalban.
“We are also exceptionally proud that the project is being conducted under the expert supervision of Dubal’s in-house trained UAE nationals, which is also in line with Dubal’s management directions.”
Mohammed E Nagib, general manager, engineering and maintenance, commented: “Apart from the obvious freedom to update our technology without interference from outside parties, our own in-house cell technology has been of principal benefit in our expansion of Potline 7.
“Through its use, we have made the process of expansion even more efficient, as well as ensuring the continuing reduction of our operational costs. Dubal will greatly benefit from this expansion, once the venture is completed.”
Currently Dubal’s smelter complex includes a 686,000 tpy smelter, a 1,645 MW power station, a large carbon plant, two casthouses, a 30-million-gallon per day desalination plant, laboratories and research facilities, port and storage facilities and maintenance areas.
The primary aluminium is used in the manufacture of value-added products such as foundry alloy for automotive wheels, extrusion billet for construction purposes and high-purity aluminium for the electronics industry. Exports go to 42 countries.