Oman to Develop Aluminum Industry as Pillar of Economy

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Sohar Aluminum (Sohar, Oman) was founded in 2006 at a cost of $2.4 billion. The company began production in June 2008 as one of the macro industrial projects embodying the vision of the future for the Omani economy. The decision to establish the company aimed to strengthen the base of heavy industries that are now considered to be one of the pillars of the country's economy.

Sohar Aluminum installed a new AP-36 technology smelter with a length of 1.2 kilometers, supplied by Rio Tinto Alcan Incorporated (Montreal, Quebec). The process is one of the best commercially available technologies in terms of saving energy and enhancing production capacity. The Sohar Aluminum smelter produces 360,000 metric tons per year of aluminum ingots that conform to LME grade P 1020A, high purity ingot standards. The plant also contains the carbon unit on the site, producing anode blocks with maximum efficiency.

Sohar Aluminum Company produces 360,000 tons annually, and about 60% of this production goes to the local market, while 40% goes to outside markets. The company plans to increase the added value of the aluminum industry in the country and will feed a new aluminum rolling mill, which is planned for construction in the same area of Sohar. Sohar Aluminum pledged to feed the Aluminum Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO ) (Muscat, Oman) with about 140,000 tons of aluminum annually, as inputs for its rolling mill.

In April this year, FATA EPC (Turin, Italy) was awarded the turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract by ARMCO, worth approximately $300 million, for the aluminum rolling plant that will be located in Sohar. This strategically important project will provide 275 direct jobs at full production and will also generate many other jobs required to support the operation of the 160,000-ton-per-year plant.

The rolling mill will serve the aluminum food-container and foil markets, along with material for the automotive heat exchanger and air conditioning markets. According the contract, FATA began the engineering works in January 2011, while production is expected to begin August 2013. The project's product sales will be sold in the local market, and surplus product will be exported.

Last February, about 500 protesters spread to Sohar's port and blocked trucks from entering, raising demands that included more jobs and a greater public voice in the country's affairs. Following this, Oman, through developing industries such as aluminum and its complementary industries, will cope with part of the unemployment in the country and guarantee increasing and diversified national income by developing other industries besides petroleum. About 1,200 jobs will be created during the construction of the ARMCO project .

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