Abu Dhabi Basic Industries Corporation (Adbic) is planning to build a $1.5bn aluminium rolling mill with a capacity of 500,000 tonnes-a-year at Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone (KPIZ) in Taweelah.

Speaking at the MEED Middle East Aluminium 2010 conference, Juan Gomez-Cardobes, vice-president for metals, Adbic, said that while he is not ready to disclose the joint venture partner in the project, a site has been identified and is ready for construction work to begin.

“We [Adbic] need to break ground in the first quarter of 2011 so we are hoping to issue tenders in the third quarter and award the contracts in the fourth quarter of 2010,” Gomez-Cardobes says. “At the moment we have not discussed contracting strategy with our partner and it is not clear which direction we are going to take.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Adbic chief executive officer, Jamal Salem al-Dhaheri, told MEED what his company will be looking for in regards to potential contractors.

“It is always best to have a competition and make it as transparent as possible,” Al-Dhareri says. “It is important that the contractors have experience with large aluminium projects as well as good local knowledge.”

Al-Dhareri also explained why the new world-scale mill will be a unique addition to the Middle East aluminium industry. “The technology we are putting in the mill will be capable of supplying many diverse markets and that is unique to this region,” he says. “One of the key targets [of the rolling mill] is Middle East can manufacturers, for example.”

“However, whenever we [Adbic] discuss new projects, we don’t talk about just the local markets, but that is a good place to start,” he adds.

The rolling mill is Adbic’s third project at the proposed metals park at KPIZ and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2013. The company is also building an aluminium extrusion plant with Gulf Extrusions Company as well as an aluminium rod plant with Midal Cables.