The local Taweelah Aluminium Extrusion Company (Talex) has begun prequalifying technology providers for the $125m extrusion plant it plans to build at Taweelah in Abu Dhabi.

Interested parties have been asked to submit prequalification documents to Talex, which plans to release a tender for the plant in May or June.

The scope of works includes an extrusion plant with a capacity of up to 50,000 tonnes a year (t/y) with an additional cast house. Hot metal will be provided by the Emirates Aluminium smelter and the cast house will provide the plant with the flexibility to produce its own billets, which can then be used in the extrusion press.

“This project has taken some time to really take off, but now it is making solid progress,” says a metals industry source familiar with the scheme. “There is an interesting configuration at the plant, as it will also have its own cast house.”

Talex has already signed a lease for the 200,000-square-metre plot with Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Industrial Zone Abu Dhabi (Kizad). MEED reported in early January that Talex was looking for a financial adviser for the scheme.

Talex is a 50:50 joint venture of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries (Adbic) and the local Gulf Extrusions.