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Muscat: The $2.4 billion project of Sohar Aluminium Company, the first green-field smelter in the Gulf region in nearly a quarter of a century, commenced production at its Sohar location yesterday.
The company successfully produced the first 'hot metal' at its state-of-the-art facility - on schedule and after three years of meticulous construction and planning. This milestone marks the beginning of the smelter's production, which will reach full capacity in December this year.
"This is a very proud moment for everyone at Sohar Aluminium, from the shareholders and management team to all operators, maintainers and support staff," said Tony Kinsman, chief executive, Sohar Aluminium.
"It is tangible evidence that even with a new young local workforce, Oman can provide the necessary ingredients for new international enterprises to set up and be of ongoing benefit to the greater population for years to come."
Ahmad Al Wahaibi, chairman of Sohar Aluminium, said: "We have all admired the perseverance of the operations teams having to prepare for start-up under difficult conditions, and this makes the hot metal achievement even more special, thanks to their dedication to getting the job done."
"Of course, the first ingot is just the beginning. The objective now is a smooth, safe and sustainable start-up. Sohar Aluminium has demonstrated an excellent safety record to date and we must do our utmost to ensure that continues," he said.
A host of dignitaries and shareholder representatives were on hand to witness the production milestone. The venture is 20 per cent owned by Alcan, the Canadian aluminium producing unit of Australia-based Rio Tinto. State-owned Oman Oil Company and the Abu Dhabi Electricity and Water Authority (Adwea) each hold a 40 per cent stake in the project.
Located around 12 kilometres from the industrial port of Sohar, the smelter consists of a single 360-pot aluminium smelter potline with a capacity of approximately 350,000 metric tonnes ax year. When complete, the potline will be the largest single potline in the world.
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