14 August 2017

Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the Bahrain-based international aluminium smelter, recently welcomed the Korean Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain, His Excellency Mr. Koo Hyun-mo and the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. Yung Young Ki, as part of the Company’s endeavours to strengthen commercial ties with the Korean Republic.  

Alba’s Chief Executive Officer Tim Murray received the Korean Ambassador, in the presence of Alba’s Executive Management Team and key officials.

During the visit, the Korean delegation was briefed on Line 6 Expansion Project recent updates, and opportunities for cooperation with the leading Korean industries were discussed.

On this occasion, Alba’s Chief Executive Officer, Tim Murray, said:

“It gave us much pleasure to welcome HE the Korean Ambassador and the Head of Mission to share Alba’s recent developments on our landmark project - Line 6 Expansion Project.

We are confident that such high-level meetings will contribute to further develop new commercial relationships between both countries.”

Following the visit, HE the Korean Ambassador was accompanied in a tour around the different facilities within Alba’s smelter.

-Ends- 

About Alba:
Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) - one of the largest and modern aluminium smelters in the world - is renowned for its premium grade aluminium products, technological strength and innovative policies, strict environmental guidelines and high track record for safety. Established in 1971 as a 120,000 tonnes per annum smelter, Alba today produces more than 971,000 metric tonnes per annum of the highest grade aluminium, with products including standard and T-ingots, extrusion billets, rolling slab, properzi ingots, and molten aluminium.

Alba is listed on both the Bahrain Bourse and London Stock Exchange, and the Company’s shareholders are Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (69.38%), SABIC Industrial Investment Company (20.62%) and the General Public (10%).

About Line 6 Expansion Project
Alba’s Line 6 Expansion Project is one of the largest brownfield developments in the region. Expected to begin production by early 2019, this Project will boost the smelter’s per-annum production by 540,000 metric tonnes, bringing its total production capacity to 1.5 million metric tonnes per year.

With a CAPEX of approximately US$ 3 billion, the Line 6 Expansion Project involves the construction of a sixth pot line utilising EGA’s proprietary DX+ Ultra Technology, a 1,792 MW power station and other industrial services.

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.  J.P. Morgan, Gulf International Bank (GIB) and National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) are the Financial Advisors for this Project.

In June 2015, Alba Board approved the Line 6 Expansion Project and in November 2015, Alba secured the natural gas supply for this Project.

Alba successfully closed a US$ 1.5 Billion syndicated term-loan facility comprising two tranches: Conventional Facility & and Islamic Facility in October 2016 as well as c. US$ 700 million Export Credit Financing (Euler Hermes and SERV-covered facilities) in July 2017. The Company is looking to secure the second tranche of the Export Credit Agency (ECAs) within the second half of 2017.

The Front End Engineering Design (FEED) study for the Project was completed in the first quarter of 2017 while the construction site-works have started in the second quarter of 2017 and will be completed by September 2017.  Alba has laid the First Concrete in Potline 6 Foundation in May 2017 wherein the concrete foundations will reach 85,000 m3 upon completion by December 2018.

The Line 6 Expansion Project will make Alba the world’s largest single-site aluminium smelter and be a significant economic boost for the Kingdom of Bahrain due to the many co-investment opportunities through local and foreign aluminium investments.

© Press Release 2017