Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) produced the first hot metal at its Potline 6 Expansion Project on 13 December.

The 1.4 kilometre-long Potline 6 will make Alba the world's largest aluminium smelter once at full production, adding 540,000 tonnes a year (t/y) to Alba's existing capacity of 1 million t/y.

US-based Bechtel is the project’s engineering, procurement and construction management contractor. US-based GE and Turkey’s Gama Power are working on Power Station 5, which will support the expansion, and Germany’s Siemens is completing the power distribution system contract.

Alba signed a memorandum of understanding in late 2017 with Bechtel to explore further opportunities for the growth of its Line 6 Expansion Project.