Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), one of the world’s leading aluminium smelters, has been granted the environmental permission for its Line 6 Expansion Project from the Supreme Council for Environment, Bahrain.

The environmental permission, vital to Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project, was granted based on a detailed environmental and social impact assessments carried-out by a competent consultant and overseen by the Line 6 expansion team, said a statement from the company.

To date, one of the top 10 aluminium producers in the world, Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project will make it the largest single site smelter in the world upon its completion. Expected to begin production in early 2019, this project will boost the company’s per-annum production by 514,000 tonnes upon full ramp-up, bringing its total production capacity to approximately 1,450,000 tonnes per year, it added.

Alba has earned international praise and recognition for being one of the most environment-friendly smelters in the world. The company has won many prestigious awards such as the United Nations Environment Protection (UNEP) Award (1997), GCC Prize for the Best Industrial Establishment that complies with Environmental Standards and Specifications (2005) and GAC Health & Safety Award – Smelter Category (2014) for best practices in health, safety and environment performance, said the statement.

Tim Murray, chief executive officer, Alba, said: “I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Supreme Council for Environment - Bahrain.”

“The receipt of this permit reaffirms the commitment and support of the Government of Bahrain has towards this landmark project, which will bring significant benefit to Bahrain,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service