GHC to Build $1 Billion Aluminum Rolling Mill

Abu Dhabi's biggest industrial investment group, General Holding Corporation (GHC; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), will invest about $1 billion to construct an aluminum rolling mill at the Khalifa Port Industrial Zone in Taweelah. The new aluminum project will be located next to the rolling mill operated by Emirates Aluminium Company Limited (EMAL; Abu Dhabi). Sources indicate that GHC's aluminum rolling mill will utilize feed from EMAL's manufacturing facility and produce foils and cans for small- and medium-scale industries. The project is likely to provide employment for 3,000 people.

Established in 2007, EMAL is a joint venture of Dubai Aluminium Company (DUBAL; Dubai, United Arab Emirates) and Mubadala Development Company (Abu Dhabi). Mubadala Development Company is Abu Dhabi's state-controlled investment vehicle. EMAL's flagship two-phase aluminum project at the Khalifa Port Industrial Zone is currently under construction. The 700,000-ton-per-year first phase will produce billets, sheet ingots and standard ingots. Total investment for this phase, which also includes a 2,000-MW power project, is about $5.7 billion. The second phase is likely to increase the aluminum production capacity of the plant to 1.4 million tons per year. In a related development, EMAL delivered its first supply of standard ingots to Al-Jaber Aluminium Extrusions LLC (Abu Dhabi).

In the past few years, GHC has led Abu Dhabi's investments and economic growth in the non-hydrocarbons sector. The company's business interests span steel, polymers, metals, chemicals and petrochemicals. Recently, Hussain Jassim Al-Nowais, the vice chairman of GHC, announced that in the next few years, the company would invest about $10 billion toward augmentation of existing facilities, development of new plants, joint ventures and global asset acquisitions. National Petroleum Construction Company (Abu Dhabi), a subsidiary of GHC, is scouting for acquisition opportunities in Libya, Nigeria and Angola. Last month, NPCC successfully completed a $1 billion, 26,000-ton-per-year hydrocarbons platform project in Qatar. The company has also completed large-scale projects in India and Saudi Arabia.

Another GHC subsidiary, Emirates Steel Industries (Abu Dhabi) will augment its production capacity from 3 million tons per year to 6.5 million tons per year by 2013-14. Sources have indicated that the capacity augmentation program will help Emirates Steel manufacture plates, sections and rolled coils, in addition to wire rods and rebar. Emirates Steel is also seeking project finance of $1.5 billion over a 7-year period to fund future projects. The financing is expected to be completed by June 2010. The bulk of Emirates Steel's output is consumed locally. The remainder is exported to Iraq, Sudan and Jordan.

Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Limited (ADBIC; Abu Dhabi), which is GHC's manufacturing affiliate, plans to invest $1.5 billion toward an aluminum rolling mill and steel pipe manufacturing facilities. ADBIC is in talks with two international companies for partnership in implementing these ventures. Agreements are likely to be signed by the end of this year.

Abu Dhabi, which is the capital of United Arab Emirates, is the largest of the seven emirates. Nearly 95 percent of the country's oil and natural gas resources are found in this region. Abu Dhabi accounts for about 70 percent of the country's wealth and revenues. Presently, GHC, which employs about 17,000 people, accounts for more than 13 percent of Abu Dhabi's non-hydrocarbons gross domestic product. In 2009, GHC's net profit increased 61 percent to $307.6 million, from $191.3 million in 2008. During the same period, the company's assets grew 16 percent to $5 billion.

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