Chinese firm to start constrution of Bintan aluminium smelter in January

Another Chinese firm is all set to start building its smelter come January. Shandong Nanshan Aluminium, China's second-largest aluminum producer, has been reported to be mulling over construction on its $2 billion manufacturing complex in Bintan, Riau Islands, early next year.

The company is set to build a smelter, dams and a 2,800-megawatt power plant to produce aluminium ingots, powder, foil and sheet, Riau interim governor Agung Mulyana said on Thursday.

"It has been decided that we will establish a 2,000-hectare industrial complex in Bintan," he said, adding that the company would source bauxite from Kalimantan.

The plant is estimated to create between 7,000 to 9,000 jobs for local residents and 2,000 positions to be filled by foreign workers. Earlier reports suggested that Nanshan aimed to produce 2.1 million tons of alumina and 570,000 tons of aluminum ingots each year.

Riau would also benefit from 300 megawatts of excess power from the plant, Agung said.

Still, when the project was first announced in 2013, the government said Nanshan Aluminium would invest $5 billion and complete construction by October 2016.

Nanshan Aluminum is listed in the Shanghai Stock Exchange and reported more than $16 billion in revenue last year. The company sells its products to Australia, America, Canada, Italy, Singapore and Hong Kong.