Bahrain-based Ahmed Mansoor Al Aali Group said its structural and mechanical division (AMD-SMD)  marked a major construction milestone last week by delivering the first potshell equipment for Aluminium Bahrain's (Alba) Potline 6 expansion project.

Under a contract from International Bechtel Company (Bechtel), the engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) contractor for the project, AMA-SMD is manufacturing and supplying core packages for potline equipment for the Potline 6 expansion.

The Bahraini group is manufacturing 427 pot shells (each weighing 44 tonnes) for the project, the first of which was delivered on February 12, said the company in a statement.

In addition, AMA Group along with its partner Alucor (UAE) is manufacturing 424 cathode ring busbars (each weighing 47 tonnes), the first of which was delivered on February 14.

The AMA-Alucor joint venture company is also executing the potline mechanical installation package at site, it added.

The Alba project involves supplying of pot-shells and cathode ring busbars, stretching a total of 2.6 km length of the potline, remarked Haresh Patel, the general manager of AMA-SMD.

This major smelter equipment is among the largest ever manufactured in the aluminium smelting Industry, he added.

The design of the potshells are based on DX+ Ultra technology from Dubal-Emirates Global Aluminum (Ega) supplied to Alba for the Line 6 expansion project, which enables the Bahraini firm to be the largest aluminum smelter in the world.  

Already some 50,000 tonnes of aluminium, steel and stainless-steel equipment have been produced at AMA facility in the past one year. Of this, some quantity has been stored at its factory and seaside storage facility in the Askar area of Bahrain, ready for delivery.

This AMA facility is one of the largest manufacturing facility of its kind in the region.

“We are looking to complete the project ahead of schedule,” stated Patel.

The Alba Potline 6 expansion is the ninth aluminium smelter project awarded to AMA and its group companies by the global aluminium industry, and the seventh consecutive project from Bechtel Corporation.-TradeArabia News Service