Muscat - Sohar Aluminium plans to gradually raise capacity by 28,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) to 390,000 tpa by 2019 with an additional investment of $35 million, a top-level official of the company told journalists here on Thursday.
The company, which is now upgrading to a new generation technology, currently produces 375,000 tonnes of primary aluminium a year in the form of hot metal, with two main local consumers.
The capacity expansion will be on a small scale since upgrading an existing plant is not like a green field project, noted Said Mohammed Al Masoudi, chief executive officer of Sohar Aluminium, on the sidelines of an event to launch its Sustainability Report.
Upgrading to Aluminium Pechiney (AP) technology will allow the plant to be more efficient, particularly in terms of energy consumption, he added.
Referring to an earlier proposal to double the installed capacity, Mulham Al Jarf, chairman of Sohar Aluminium, said that there is no such immediate plan. "When the market is encouraging and gas is available, we will reconsider the expansion project," noted Al Jarf.
Among the two local consumers, Oman Aluminium Processing Industries takes around 50,000 tonnes per year while Oman Aluminium Rolling Co takes 140,000-160,000 tonnes, said an agency report. A third major consumer of the output is being arranged, Masoudi said.
The company plans to increase share of liquid metal it supplies to two customers as they ramp up their operations, ensuring that SA contributes further to the development of downstream industries in Oman, according to the Sustainability Report released by the company.
Also, Sohar Aluminium managed to source 64 per cent of its purchases from local vendors (excluding raw materials), mostly from Al Batinah region last year. Further, as part of its corporate social responsibility framework, Sohar Aluminium board has committed 1.5 per cent of the shareholders' profit towards implementing sustainable projects for the benefit of the local community.
These projects cover educational institutions in Al Batinah region, environment and social awareness programmes and small and medium enterprises development within the region.
© Times of Oman 2014
