Bahrain Aluminium Extrusion Company (Balexco) said its $21.3 million project to expand the plant at the Sitra Industrial Zone was nearing completion.

Balexco's expansion project comprises two parts, a $9.3 million anodising unit and a $12 million aluminium extrusion line. Both are expected to begin operations in December this year.

The advanced anodising unit is designed to produce about 6,000 tonnes of anodised aluminium annually, a 67 per cent increase over the current production levels, said the company in a statement.

The new extrusion line will increase the production capacity of extruded aluminium by about 33 per cent, from 24,000 to 32,000 tonnes annually.

'The expansion is aimed at meeting the growing levels of demand locally, regionally and internationally in general and the demand for Balexco products in particular,' said chief executive officer Jassim Mohammed Seyadi.

'Balexco products are used on a large scale in many foreign projects, with 70 per cent of the company's products exported to Gulf and Arab markets and the remaining 30 per cent consumed by the Bahraini market,' he added.

Balexco has achieved steady positive revenues of between 20 per cent and 25 per cent over the past five years, and the company is the fourth largest aluminium extrusion company in the Mena region in terms of production today.

'Balexco has managed to maintain its standing in the Gulf markets thanks to its outstanding products, its experience of more than 30 years, and its ability to develop its operations and products to meet the needs of the market and its clients across all of the countries in which it operates,' said Balexco chairman Mohammed Hassan Al Nusuf.

He said the company is negotiating a number of new expansion projects in light of available investment opportunities related to the company's activities.

The company intends to significantly expand its operations in the near future to continue meeting the needs of its clients and the construction and industrial boom that Bahrain and the GCC are currently witnessing, he added.-TradeArabia News Service