Aluminium Bahrain set to appoint adviser for expansion plan says Alba CFO

Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) is close to selecting the financial adviser for its $2.5 billion Line 6 expansion project, having whittled down its choice to two banks, its chief financial officer told Reuters.

The scheme will make Alba the largest single-site aluminium smelter in the world by boosting per-annum production by 400,000 metric tonnes, at a time when demand for the metal is growing, Ali al-Baqali said in an interview at the plant.

Alba, at the centre of an aluminium industry which contributes around 10 percent of Bahrain's GDP, retendered the adviser role after a contract with BNP Paribas waned in October.

"We short-listed a few banks and as of today, we are evaluating the final two proposals," Baqali said, without naming the banks involved.

The proposed opening date for Line 6, which will increase Alba's annual capacity to around 1.3 million metric tonnes, is dependent on final approval for the gas pricing structure being received from the Bahraini government, Baqali said.

Should this come in the second quarter, production would commence around the end of 2018, he added.

"Growth is expected to revolve around 5 percent a year for the coming ten years, so there is strong global demand. And there is no more capacity in the industry, so this is the right time to have Line 6," Baqali told Reuters.