Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), a leading aluminium smelter, has secured commitments of about $700 million from Export Credit Agency (ECA) supported facilities to finance Line 6 Expansion project.  

The facilities are made-up of a dual tranche of c. $310 million and c. EUR315 million ($334 million) SERV Guaranteed Export Credit and c. EUR50 million Euler Herms Guaranteed Export Credit.

The SERV-backed facility will fund the company’s Power Station 5 (PS5) wherein General Electric (GE), EPC contractor, will provide three 9HA gas turbines, three steam turbines and three heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs).

This facility will have a 15-year tenor and the principal amount will be repaid over 12-year period. The Hermes-backed facility will finance the Power Distribution Systems (PDS) where Siemens will construct and commission High Voltage electrical network and provide Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS) up to 220kV.  This facility will have a 14-year tenor and the principal amount will be repaid over 12-year period.

Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al Khalifa, Alba’s chairman said: “Securing the Export Credit Financing for Power Station 5 and power distribution system is a strong vote of confidence in Line 6 Expansion Project.

“We look forward to work with the Swiss and German Governments as well as with GE and Siemens to progress with Line 6 as per schedule.”

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.is acting as the ECA coordinator to assist the Company in arranging the ECA facilities. Further information will be provided in due course.

Expected to start metal production in early 2019, Line 6 Expansion Project will boost the per-annum production by 540,000 metric tonnes upon its full ramp-up, bringing Alba’s total production capacity to 1,500,000 metric tonnes per annum to make Alba the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter.  - TradeArabia News Service