Abu Dhabi, 10 February, 2010: Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) announced today that it had signed a contract with Daewoo International Corp. to deliver aluminium sow ingots to the South Korean conglomerate. EMAL has taken an important step towards fulfilling its vision of becoming one of the world's largest producers and suppliers of aluminium products.

Saeed Fadhel Al Mazrooei, CEO of EMAL, expressed his pleasure over the agreement with Daewoo, saying he believes it sets the stage for EMAL to attract other important clients in the coming years.

"We are delivering our 1st shipment to Daewoo and we're pleased that such a strong, established Asian company with global reach understands the benefits partnering with EMAL," he said. "This agreement is in line with our business strategy to develop a wide international client base."

Kim Yong Hyun, General Manager of Non-Ferrous at Daewoo International Corp. believes that the deal with EMAL will prove to be long lasting.

"EMAL is meeting our requirements and quality standards, and we're thrilled to receive the company's first international shipment. We have established a solid foundation for what should be a long-term working relationship," he said.

EMAL's high-tech USD 5.7 billion aluminium smelter is the world's largest green field project of its kind, representing a key piece of the Abu Dhabi Government's industrialisation and diversification strategy.

-Ends-

EMAL is a joint venture (JV) between Dubai Aluminium Company Limited (DUBAL) and Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala) and was established in February 2007 to construct what will become the world's largest single site aluminium smelter complex.  The project will be built in two phases and utilise DUBAL DX technology. Phase one started production in December 2009 and once finished EMAL will produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminium per annum and 1.4 million tonnes annually at the end of phase two.  The aluminium complex, a 6sq km site in the Khalifa Port Industrial Zone in Al Taweelah, half way between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, will produce primary aluminium with a product mix of sow, standard ingot, tee ingot, extrusion billet and sheet ingot.

Being the largest industrial project in the UAE outside the oil and gas industry, the project will encourage economic diversification, creating downstream opportunities.  This development will benefit the UAE economy, employing more than 17,000 local and international contractors/staff during construction and approximately 2,000 people direct employment during operations.

EMAL adheres to strict environmental standards set by the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency, with state-of the-art emission control equipment including sulphur-dioxide scrubbers, the latest potroom gas treatment technology, the best-available gas turbine systems, and cooling towers to eliminate thermal stress on local marine life.  

For further Information, please contact:
Rosine Feghali Bejjani - Emirates Aluminium
Tel: 02 509 2290
Email: rosine@emal.ae

Nathan Wilson, Impact Porter Novelli
Tel: 04 330 4030
Email: n.wilson@ipn.ae

© Press Release 2010