Alba, the Gulf’s oldest aluminium smelter, has expressed confidence the Middle East will be an international hub for the metal long term.

The optimism was voiced by Alba chief executive Laurent Schmitt at an event in Egypt. Schmitt backed up his contention with an estimate given earlier by leading experts that the Middle East was expected to grab nearly 14 per cent of aluminium production in the next four years.

The official was speaking at a dinner that Alba hosted to honour participants of the 14th International  Arab Aluminiuum Conference and Exhibition (Arabal 2010) in the Egyptian city of Luxor.

The GCC region itself is a prolific producer. Alba produces 850,000 tonnes annually while Dubal in the UAE is expected to raise production to over a million tonnes this year. Emal, the Abu Dhabi smelter will achieve capacity of 1.4 million tonnes annually by the end of 2013. Smelters of moderate capacities were recently set up in Oman (360,000 tonnes) and Qatar (585,000 tonnes) and both have expansions in mind while the Maaden-Alcoa complex will produce 750,000 tonnes in the first phase in Saudi Arabia.

“As the oldest smelter in the GCC and a regional pioneer in aluminium production, Alba is proud to be associated with this event that enables regional smelters to raise their profile on the international stage,” Schmitt told the Arabal participants.

The official highlighted Alba’s ongoing support to the work of the Gulf Aluminium Council as crucial in promoting greater opportunities for interaction with members of the industry not only in the region but also worldwide.

He remarked that the Gulf Aluminium Council would enable smelters in the region evolve a joint consensus in tackling challenges and addressing common issues and concerns as well as seizing the competitive advantage of being located in the resource-rich Arabian Gulf.

As one of the principal trade events for the aluminium industry in the Arab world, Arabal 2010 brought together aluminium producers, suppliers, consumers and research workers from around the world under one platform.  An exhibition was held on the sidelines of the conference in which Alba showcased its portfolio of high-grade aluminium products, its quality-focused production process, its environment-friendly and safety-conscious operations.