EGA signs port facility agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports to import bauxite from Guinea for its Al Taweelah alumina refinery

Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest aluminium conglomerate in the Middle East has signed a long-term port facility agreement with Abu Dhabi Ports to import bauxite for its under-construction Al Taweelah alumina refinery.  Khalifa Port sets to become the first port in the Middle East to handle some of the world’s largest ships after this agreement. EGA would be using using world’s largest bulk cargo ships, Capesize vessels for importing the bauxite.

Abu Dhabi Ports would dig up and widen the existing channel to accomodate large vessels directly at Khalifa Port. The advanced port capabilities will boost Abu Dhabi’s profile as a trade and investment hub worldwide.

EGA plans to use large dry bulk ships to import raw materials without the need to transfer all or some of the cargo to smaller vessels outside the port, reducing long-term shipping costs and improving environmental performance.

The agreement was signed at EGA’s headquarters in Al Taweelah (KIZAD) by Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Ports and Abdulla Kalban, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of EGA.

The partnership between the two entities supports regional development by enhancing value to customers. EGA will use Capsize vessels to ship the bauxite ore from the Republic of Guinea in West Africa to feed its under-construction alumina refinery next to its aluminium smelter in Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi. The first alumina refinery in the Gulf is located adjacent to the Khalifa Port. Once fully operational, the Al Taweelah alumina refinery will process five million tonnes of bauxite annually.

Speaking on the occasion, Captain Al Shamisi said: “Today’s announcement marks another milestone for Abu Dhabi’s maritime and trade industry, and demonstrates our commitment to ongoing innovation and expansion in response to market and customer demands…Khalifa Port will be the first port in the region with capsize vessel handling capacity, and with EGA’s long term commitment, will give an important boost to trade and investment in KIZAD and more broadly in the region.”

Abdulla Kalban, MD and CEO of EGA said: “Dredging Khalifa Port to allow fully-laden Capesize vessels to reach EGA’s berth will reduce our costs, simplify our bauxite supply chain, and improve our environmental performance. I am also pleased that the enhanced capabilities at Khalifa Port will enable broader trade and economic benefits for Abu Dhabi.”

Khalifa Port is one of the most efficient and technologically advanced ports in the world that accommodates more than 20 shipping lines.

EGA’s site is the biggest industrial facility at KIZAD and it also operates an aluminium smelter at Jebel Ali in Dubai. Al Taweelah alumina refinery will produce 2 million tonnes of alumina per year, meeting 40 per cent of EGA’s feedstock requirements.  Guinea bauxite will be transported to Abu Dhabi via the global shipping firm K-Line, which is named has been named Cape Taweelah.