Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), which is planning a major expansion, has outlined to the Bahraini government its potential needs in electricity.

The smelter’s chairman Mahmoud Al Kooheji had a meeting with Energy Minister Dr Abdulhussain Mirza during which they discussed pumping more natural gas for Alba and supplying the company with an additional 228 MW in summer and 268 MW in winter from the grid of the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) from 2014.

Dr Mirza urged National Oil and Gas Authority and EWA officials to study the project and suggest proposals to carry it out.

Alba has done a pre-feasibility study for Line 6. For Lines 4 and 5 the company used Pechiney technology. Earlier this year, Al Kooheji said the company was looking at investing $2 billion for adding capacity of 400,000 tonnes per year.

Alba produces more than 860,000 tonnes per annum of aluminium which meet or exceed the industry standard for purity, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, propertzi ingots and molten aluminium.

Meanwhile, Alba participated as a gold sponsor at the 26th International Aluminium Conference held in Paris from September 7 to 9.

Commenting on its participation, Alba pledged to support initiatives contributing to the growth of the industry, enhancing understanding of trends and developments and promoting opportunities for interaction.

More than 500 key decision-makers from the global aluminium industry took part in the conference organised by Metal Bulletin Events.

Chief executive Laurent Schmitt said Alba’s support reflected its determination to play a pro-active role in the growth of the industry and confidence in its long-term success.

Workshop for directors
In other Alba-related news, a “Building Better Boards” workshop was conducted by the GCC Board Directors Institute for Alba’s directors.

“Alba remains keen to promote and strengthen transparency and corporate governance across the organisation,” said Al Kooheji. “This workshop is geared towards enhancing the capabilities of Alba’s Board of Directors in corporate governance, improving the effectiveness of their interactions both in the boardroom and outside, enabling them to deliver on performance and leadership, as well as maintaining an inspirational role not only for the management but also for all of Alba’s employees.”

Dr Abdulla Al Abdul Gader, the institute’s executive director, said it was encouraged to work alongside leading companies such as Alba.

The institute was launched in 2007 by a group of large corporations and professional advisory firms. The workshop modules were conducted by a distinguished faculty, and included Peter Breen from Heiderick & Struggles, Mehmet Darendeli from McKinsey & Company, Steve Drake and Gavin Steel from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Khalid Garousha from Allen & Overy.

Alba also provided sponsorship for a gala dinner of the Bahrain Society for Training & Development (BSTD) to underline its backing of BSTD’s goals to promote excellence in people management and effective Bahrainisation.