Emaar, The Economic City, the company developing King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC), and Emal International, the JV of Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium Company (Dubal), will establish a greenfield aluminium smelter complex in KAEC.

A Memorandum of Understanding agreement was signed in this regard today.

The project will have an initial direct investment of SR18.4 billion ($5 billion) and first phase production design capacity of 700,000 tonnes. The agreement was endorsed by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), the prime facilitator for King Abdullah Economic City.

Amr Bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh, governor, Sagia; and Fahd Al-Rasheed, chief executive officer, Emaar E.C, signed the agreement with Abdulla Kalban, chief executive officer, Dubal, in KAEC.

Dubal is a global leader in the production and marketing of primary aluminium, and Mubadala is the wholly-owned investment vehicle of the Government of Abu Dhabi. KAEC is a mixed-use project with six key components including a sea port and industrial zone, and is spread over 168 million sq m on the Red Sea Coast.

The aluminium smelter complex at KAEC will be among the largest such facilities in the region and will create over 2,500 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs, initially. With the potential to double the production capacity, the plant will also drive downstream industrial investment to KAEC, thus creating a dynamic industrial investment hub in the region. Work on the project is expected to start end of this year upon completion of project studies and environmental assessment.

Al-Dabbagh said: 'Saudi Arabia is fast consolidating its economic status as the regional investment hotbed, powered by the pioneering development initiatives undertaken by the economic cities in the Kingdom. As the first multi-faceted economic city, KAEC has set a strong foundation for inward investment in a number of high-growth sectors. The aluminium smelter complex will be another magnet for industries exploring the investment options provided by KAEC.'

Al-Rasheed said: 'KAEC is the single largest private sector development in the region, and to further promote its objectives we are forming strong public-private partnerships that power our growth. The partnership with EMAL International, which represents the joining hands of two of the UAE's leading names in industry and investment, will enable KAEC to deliver a strong foundation of growth for potential investors.'

He added: 'Aluminium industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors with huge potential for job creation directly and through ancillary industries. By setting up the smelter complex, we are also reiterating on our commitment to the Kingdom to create more job opportunities for the Saudi population.'

Kalban said: “Dubal’s involvement in this project is extremely gratifying, as it pays tribute to the wealth of experience and advanced technologies developed by our company over the past 28 years.”

Mubadala’s CEO and managing director, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, added: “Both Mubadala and Dubal enjoy the capabilities and resources to design, implement and run a project of this magnitude. The combined strengths of our two companies will ensure the delivery of a world-class project.”

Global demand for aluminium is on the rise, and the Gulf region today accounts for about 5 per cent of the world aluminium production of 34 million tonnes, according to reports. This is expected to rise to 15 per cent by 2020 with a projected global production of 60 million tonnes. The KAEC plant will be complement the market-leading positions of Dubai in aluminium production in the future, a statement said.

KAEC recently opened its Industrial Zone to huge investor response from around the world. The first phase of the Residential Communities was also launched with the Bay La Sun Village gaining sell-out customer response. Work at the site<