DUSHANBE, May 15, Asia-Plus – UC RUSAL, the world’s largest producer of aluminum and its alloys, and HydroOGK, Russia’s leader in the area of renewable energy, have begun construction of the Boguchanskiy Aluminum Smelter, UC RUSAL press service said.
The smelter with capacity of production of 600,000 tons of aluminum per year will be one of Russia’s five largest. Total investment in this project is expected to reach $2.3 billon.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the smelter was held today in the village of Tayozhny, Krasnoyarsk region, in the presence of Alexander Khloponin, Governor of Krasnoyarsk, Anatoly Chubais, RAO YeES Board Chairman, Oleg Deripaska, UC RUSAL Board member, Aleksandr Bulygin, UC RUSAL CEO, and Vyacheslav Sinyugin, HydroOGK Board Chairman.
The Boguchanskiy Aluminum Smelter is being built as part of the Boguchanskoye Energy and Metal Complex project – a joint effort by UC RUSAL and HyrdoOGK. The project’s feasibility study was conducted by the All-Russia Aluminum and Magnesium Institute (VAMI), a subsidiary of UC RUSAL, and Bechtel, the international engineering company.
The smelter will include a reduction area, a baked anode production plant, a casthouse and related auxiliary facilities. The smelter will be outfitted with RA-300 reduction cells, a UC RUSAL proprietary technology and one of the world’s most efficient and clean electrolysis technologies. Commissioning of the smelter is expected to take place in December 2009, with full capacity to be attained in the second quarter of 2011.
Aleksandr Bulygin telling the groundbreaking ceremony noted, “The Boguchanskiy Aluminum Smelter is one of five facilities that the United Company is currently building in various regions of Russia.” “I am confident that the experience we gained in constructing our Khakas Aluminum Smelter will ensure success for this new project,” said he, “It is symbolic that the Boguchanskiy Smelter’s foundation stone is being laid on the 75-year anniversary of the launch of the Volkhov Aluminum Smelter, Russia’s first. This marked the birth of aluminum production in Russia and is an auspicious day for our now world-leading industry.”
According to the UC RUSAL press service, investment into the project in 2007 will roughly amount to $195 million and will include completion of 60% of earth works, as well as preparation of foundations for the reduction area and casthouse and installation of housing for the anticipated work crew.
In addition to witnessing the laying of the smelter’s foundation stone, the delegation also visited the Boguchanskaya HPP construction site. Since work was restarted in December 2005 to complete the plant, the dam has been reinforced with 110,000 cubic meters of hydraulic and bituminous concrete, 2 million cubic meters of earth works have been finished, and over 2,000 tons of supporting metal infrastructure has been installed. Basic equipment for the power plant has also been ordered from an array of leading Russian and global suppliers. In 2006, investment into the construction works amounted to approximately $192 million, and this sum is expected to rise to $385 million in 2007.
The Boguchanskoye project will create 10,000 new jobs and will contribute additional funding in tax proceeds to local and regional budgets.
HydroOGK was established in 2003 and is a 100% subsidiary of RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia. HydroOGK unites 49 Russian hydropower stations and is the world’s largest hydro generating company. In 2006, every 14th kW/h in Russia was produced by HydroOGK’s hydropower plants.
United Company RUSAL is the global leader in the aluminum industry, accounting for approximately 12.5% and 16% of global production of aluminum and alumina respectively. The company was founded in March 2007 through the merger of RUSAL, SUAL, and the alumina assets of Glencore. United Company RUSAL sells its products in 70 countries worldwide and employs 100,000 people in 17 countries, across 5 continents.
