EGA to supply alumina for specialty products

2024-02-09

Feb. 9, 2024 - Emirates Global Aluminium, the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has signed an agreement to supply alumina to The Alumina Industrial Company, enabling the development of a new industry making specialty products from alumina and contributing to the achievement of the UAE’s industrial growth strategy Operation 300bn.

The Alumina Industrial Company, established by the Maithan Group and Bathwal Corporation, intends to develop the UAE’s first complex to make specialty products from alumina in Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD). These products have widespread applications in refractories and abrasives for industrial applications.

The project requires a local source of alumina, and EGA is the only UAE producer.

The supply agreement is the first time EGA has sold alumina from its refinery to a third-party.

Alumina is the main feedstock for aluminium smelters. All the production from EGA’s Al Taweelah alumina refinery is currently used in EGA’s smelters.

EGA’s supply of alumina to the project is a further expansion of EGA’s local commercial sales that enable downstream industrial activity. EGA sells some 10% of its metal in the UAE to 26 companies that make everything from car parts to window frames for local use and global export.

Operation 300bn aims to develop the UAE’s industrial sector and enhance its role in stimulating the national economy. It aims to more than double the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP to $81.6 billion (AED300 billion) by 2031.

The Alumina Industrial Company plans to develop a plant in KEZAD with a production capacity of 80,000 tonnes per year of specialised alumina products, with the potential to expand to 150,000 tonnes annually.

The project is expected to create 200 jobs in construction and 150 permanent roles once in operation. First production is expected in 2025.

The plant’s production is expected to replace some imports required in supply chains of UAE industries ranging from steel, aluminium, petrochemicals, glass to cement.