His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa has officially inaugurated Aluminium Bahrain’s (Alba) brownfield Line 6 Expansion Project, making Bahrain the home of the world’s largest aluminium smelter outside China.
The elaborate opening ceremony on November 24 was attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister and other dignitaries.
His Majesty underlined the importance of the milestone, which will enhance Bahrain's global competitiveness in this important sector, support the national economic development, spur growth and create jobs for citizens.
He underlined Alba’s vital role, outstanding achievements since the launch of its operations in the early 1970s as the first pilot project in the region in supporting the national economy.
He highlighted the company's steady growth and performance to reach its desired goals through efforts exerted in managing the operational and marketing operations, stressing the crucial importance of the aluminum sector and its tangible contributions to Bahrain’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
He paid tribute to Bahrainis who run and operate the company, with utmost responsibility and competence, wishing the firm further success in contributing to the development of local industries.
He underlined the need to forge ahead and continue the implementation of major vital projects in order to enhance Bahrain’s competitiveness, in accordance with the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.
“Despite challenges, Bahrain has managed to embark on a comprehensive development and attain landmark achievements in all fields thanks to dedicated citizens”, he said.
Welcoming the inauguration of Line 6 project under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad, Alba chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa, said that the completion of Line 6 project is the greatest achievement in the era of His Majesty in Bahrain and this monumental event would not have been possible without the directives and support of his wise leadership.
In his speech, Alba chairman Shaikh Daij bin Salman Al Khalifa said the project will lead to tangible shift in the country with the company now contributing 15 per cent of the kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP). “From 12 per cent, Alba will now contribute 15 per cent to the country’s GDP. This is a powering and remarkable industrial achievement for the country,” Shaikh Daij said.
One of the major accomplishments of the project, he said, was that the smelter has been able to achieve substantial savings of 16 per cent of the total budget and also the project has been conducted with total transparency.
“We have been able to achieve significant savings of more than $370 million of the budgeted spend on the project, which constitutes 16 per cent of the approved budget for the sixth smelter.
Part of the savings were used to develop Alba’s dedicated port for the import and handling of raw materials, in addition to financing of some other complementary projects,” added Shaikh Daij.
“We have been able to save millions of dollars for the company’s shareholders, and we have succeeded in accomplishing this vital project for the economy of the kingdom.”
Line 6 is powered by a 1,800 MW Power Station (Power Station 5) utilising the world’s first H-class General Electric (GE) 9HA gas turbine (GT), and is considered one of the most efficient power plants around the world, with a production efficiency of 54 per cent in summer and 62 per cent in winter.
The power plant is the largest in Bahrain and has been implemented at the lowest possible cost, along with being one of the most environment friendly.
Talking about safety, the chairman said it is an area of constant focus.
“In 2019, for example, Alba achieved a massive 12 million work hours without a single lost time injury, strengthening our reputation as one of the safest aluminium smelters in the world.”
The line 6 project, he said, achieved a safety rate of 43 million hours with the participation of 11,000 workers on site daily during the peak construction period.
Line 6 Expansion Project will also be transformational for Bahrain as it will significantly boost employment opportunities for Bahrainis at both Alba and the local downstream market, Shaikh Daij said. According to him, about 500 graduates have been employed by the smelter this year.
Starting-out as a 120,000 metric tonne per annum (mtpa) smelter in 1971, Alba’s production for 2018 stood at plus-1 million metric tonnes. The project will boost the smelter’s annual production by 540,000 metric tonnes this year, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5 million metric tonnes per year.
According to Shaikh Daij with the ramp-up of production, approximately 50 per cent of capacity which was added this year will be sold to the downstream aluminium sector in the kingdom, while the rest will be exported, predominantly to the US, Europe and Asia.
“We are willing to offer the half of 540,000 metric tonnes to the local downstream industry provided they are willing to use it,” he said at the press conference held after the opening ceremony.
According to him, currently 60 per cent of the total output is exported while 40 per cent is sold locally. “A lot of local industrial units are also expanding, we also supply to them,” he said.
The biggest export market will continue to be the US, which is growing very fast, he said. “Demand is mostly coming from the US. We plan to export about 120,000 metric tonnes to the US market,” Shaikh Daij said.
With a Capex of approximately $3 billion, the Line 6 Expansion Project involved the construction of a sixth pot line using EGA’s proprietary DX+ Ultra Technology, a 1,792 MW Power Station (Power Station 5) utilising the world’s first H-class General Electric (GE) 9HA Gas Turbine (GT) and other industrial services.
In his address, Brendan Bechtel, chairman and CEO of Bechtel group lauded the company for having commissioned and completed the project way ahead of schedule. The project was commissioned on December 13 last year, ahead of schedule, with the delivery of the ‘first hot metal’. It has been completed two weeks ahead of schedule, he said.
"Amazing results are possible when partners come together as one team with one mission. And there’s no better example than this Alba, Bechtel, Supplier and Contractor team.
"You achieved first hot metal six months faster than the industry average. You also delivered this project with a total installed cost significantly better than the benchmark for these projects.
"And you did it safely -- 43 million hours worked safely, on a job with 11,000 people on site every day during its peak construction period," he said.
Bechtel is the EPCM contractor for the Line 6 Expansion Project smelter. For Power Station 5 (PS 5), GE and GAMA Consortium was awarded the EPC contract, while Siemens is the Power Distribution System contractor.-TradeArabia News Service
