Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) has still not agreed terms with a joint venture partner for its planned $1.5bn aluminium rolling mill at Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) in Taweelah.

The state-owned industrial company is currently in talks with an investor, but will not reveal the identity of the potential partner in the 500,000 tonnes-a-year facility.  “It’s a very complex project and while we are well advanced in discussions but we can’t disclose it yet,” says Juan Gomez-Cardobes, vice-president for metals, Adbic. “It is a matter of when the figures give us the green light. So we’re almost there.”

Despite a joint venture partner not yet being agreed Gomez-Cordobes says that the project is still moving ahead as planned. “We are moving forward and we have very strict deadlines regarding this project,” Gomez-Cardobes says. “We still plan to award contracts and break ground by early 2011. That has not changed.”  

When completed the rolling mill will be the largest constructed outside of China in the last 20 years. Adbic also building an aluminium extrusion plant with Gulf Extrusions Company as well as an aluminium rod plant with Midal Cables next to Emirates Aluminium’s 700,000-t/y smelter at KPIZ (MEED 02:05:10).