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MANAMA - Alba aims to reduce cash cost by $60 per tonne of aluminium and step up production capacity to one million tonnes per annum by the end of the year, chief executive Tim Murray said yesterday.
This was the annual target set under phase two of the company’s cost reduction programme called Project Titan, he said.
Addressing the last of this year’s series of town hall meetings at Oasis Hall in the Bahrain-based international aluminium producer’s plant, Mr Murray said this would help Alba adjust to the annual increase in natural gas prices.
“Focused on optimising operational costs and boosting the production, Project Titan Phase II, is an integral part of Alba’s strategy for value creation and reflects the current and expected market conditions in the aluminium industry,” he said.
In February 2014, Alba had launched Project Titan Phase I as a two-year efficiency programme to drive revenue growth and boost profitability, whereas phase II was launched in 2016.
On aluminium price expectations, Mr Murray said last year saw significant improvement of about 32 per cent from $1,700 per tonne to about $2,400 per tonne.
He attributed the rise in prices to global economic growth driving the demand for primary products, as well as the decline in Chinese production last year under an environmental plan.
He said last year the company set a new production record of 981,000 tonne per year, up 1pc over the previous year, despite the power outage incident in April 2017.
Asked about the Line 6 Expansion Project, Mr Murray told the media on the sidelines of the meeting that it was 40pc complete.
Expected to begin production by January 1, 2019, the $3 billion project that involves the construction of a sixth pot line, will boost the smelter’s per-annum production by 540,000 tonnes, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5m tonnes per year.
Engineering works are about 75pc complete whereas 94pc of total contracts and purchases are done.
Mr Murray said about 30 companies are active on the project site executing 38 contracts and have reported 5m working hours without any lost-time injury.
The project will create 500 new jobs within the company and will add about 3,000 jobs to the downstream aluminium sector in Bahrain, he added.
Alba has already employed 300 new recruits and 200 more will be hired within the year, to have the smelter fully ready to operate the sixth pot line.
© Copyright 2018 www.gdnonline.com
This was the annual target set under phase two of the company’s cost reduction programme called Project Titan, he said.
Addressing the last of this year’s series of town hall meetings at Oasis Hall in the Bahrain-based international aluminium producer’s plant, Mr Murray said this would help Alba adjust to the annual increase in natural gas prices.
“Focused on optimising operational costs and boosting the production, Project Titan Phase II, is an integral part of Alba’s strategy for value creation and reflects the current and expected market conditions in the aluminium industry,” he said.
In February 2014, Alba had launched Project Titan Phase I as a two-year efficiency programme to drive revenue growth and boost profitability, whereas phase II was launched in 2016.
On aluminium price expectations, Mr Murray said last year saw significant improvement of about 32 per cent from $1,700 per tonne to about $2,400 per tonne.
He attributed the rise in prices to global economic growth driving the demand for primary products, as well as the decline in Chinese production last year under an environmental plan.
He said last year the company set a new production record of 981,000 tonne per year, up 1pc over the previous year, despite the power outage incident in April 2017.
Asked about the Line 6 Expansion Project, Mr Murray told the media on the sidelines of the meeting that it was 40pc complete.
Expected to begin production by January 1, 2019, the $3 billion project that involves the construction of a sixth pot line, will boost the smelter’s per-annum production by 540,000 tonnes, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5m tonnes per year.
Engineering works are about 75pc complete whereas 94pc of total contracts and purchases are done.
Mr Murray said about 30 companies are active on the project site executing 38 contracts and have reported 5m working hours without any lost-time injury.
The project will create 500 new jobs within the company and will add about 3,000 jobs to the downstream aluminium sector in Bahrain, he added.
Alba has already employed 300 new recruits and 200 more will be hired within the year, to have the smelter fully ready to operate the sixth pot line.
© Copyright 2018 www.gdnonline.com
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