Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) reached the half-way point in the 100-day startup of its $1.7-billion Potline 5 expansion, a full five days earlier than planned, the company said.

“Alba has now energised the entire north portion of its fifth Potline in less than 45 days, which means the company is well positioned to beat its target of completing the startup of Line 5 in 100 days and, in doing so, it will set a world aluminium industry standard for the fastest startup of an aluminium reduction line,” a company spokesman said.
The 100-Day Safe Startup challenge began at the end of February, giving Alba a head start in the energisation of Line 5.
“With 168 out of 336 pots now energised, achieving 50 per cent of the startup within schedule and according to the highest quality and safety standards, this is an impressive industry feat that stands testament to the successful alignment and efforts deployed by the Line 5 reduction team and Alba’s supporting units,” the spokesman said. 
Alba’s CEO, Bruce Hall said:  “We have succeeded in starting up the Reduction Line ahead of schedule and with the highest safety standards.  This makes us increasingly confident of meeting the 100-Day Safe Startup challenge and achieving this will place Alba, with the Kingdom of Bahrain, in the centre stage of the global industrial field.
“The Line 5 reduction team and all supporting elements have exerted tremendous efforts to ensure that the 100-day deadlines are met.  I would like to thank everyone involved in securing (the) milestone for the dedication and continuous focus given to reaching this goal.” The Line 5 reduction operations manager is Ahmed Ghuloom.
Alba aims to energise an average of four pots a day to ensure that all 336 pots on the 1.2 km reduction line – the longest in the world – will become fully operational within the 100-day timeframe.  The Line 5 reduction team is now working towards the 75 per cent commissioning milestone timed for completion by the end of April.
Alba’s Line 5 expansion project marks a historic milestone in Bahrain’s aluminium industry and firmly establishes Alba as both a regional and global leader in its field.  The creation of the fifth potline will expand the company’s annual aluminium production by over 300,000 tonnes per year (tpy), making Alba the largest aluminium smelter in the world outside of Eastern Europe, with a total output of 830,000 tpy.
As one of the largest construction projects in the Gulf, Line 5 has brought major added benefits to the kingdom and its economy with the creation of over 8,000 jobs during construction and over 500 permanent jobs during operation.  The project has also created many lucrative opportunities for Bahrain-based companies.  In addition, local contractors have benefited from attractive budget allocations and exposure to the international work practices and standards implemented by Alba and Bechtel in the implementation of their intensive safety measures and training schemes.  Alba’s contribution to the local economy is set to increase to approximately 12 per cent as a result of the expansion project.